


Too good at goodbyes

by niamhilysb



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Hospitals, Light Smut, M/M, Meet-Cute, Minor Character Death, Sick Character, Strangers to Lovers, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, alec is a panicked gay, at first, ceo! magnus, chef! alec, i swear it will all work out, its all related to the past, it’s not a soulmate fic tho lmao, i’m not saying malec are soulmates but.. they’re soulmates, like honestly not explicit, maryse has a redemption arc, or are they, possibly triggering flashbacks, the world is just against them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 11:59:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18314855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niamhilysb/pseuds/niamhilysb
Summary: Being stuck on a train in a snowstorm, when he's already late for his sister's engagement party, wasn't what Alec had planned to happen. But he also hadn't planned to meet a beautiful man called Magnus who has an equally beautiful heart. And he definitely didn't plan on blurting out his life story to him. But sometimes meeting a stranger on a train can lead to revelations; of love, desire and shocking connections to the past. Is Magnus really a stranger? And can you fall in love and have your heart broken all in one night?*****ABANDONED*****





	Too good at goodbyes

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm back.... I really appreciate anyone giving this a shot. I wanted to use the Sam Smith song as a title because most of this was written while listening to his album and this chapter is called Midnight train even though malec don’t get the train at midnight just for continuity.  
> Basically Alec is the most panicked gay and Magnus just seems too good to be true (HINT).  
> Please remember this is fiction and i don’t live in new york so bear that in mind if any of you are from the states or know new york well, i did research but it might not be completely accurate.  
> Also Alec telling Magnus such a huge thing right after meeting him is essential to the plot so bear with it, i know it probs seems unrealistic.  
> This is a huge chapter at 23k so I appreciate anyone who reads it in one sitting lmao. Look out for the angst.  
> Hope you enjoy!  
>  If you wanna (and i’m not expecting anyone to) tweet me with the #tgagfic or tweet me @jjksmalec

Alec jolted back into the crowd as a stranger shoved past him in the rush to get on to the train. 

“It’s not like we haven’t all been waiting to get on this train.” Alec muttered, not expecting anyone to hear him. 

But a low chuckle behind him told him that he had spoken louder than he had meant to and he whirled around, expecting to see an amused face. 

But what he ended up seeing made his breath catch. 

An undeniably attractive man was standing quite close behind him, (although the closeness was not surprising, everyone stood close to the train if they wanted to get a seat ) head tilted slightly and eyes sparkling with amusement. His hair was as close to black as it could get but blonde streaks were spread out around the front, where he had spiked it up with gel. His eyes were light brown and complimented his olive skin tone but gold specks within the irises stood out even in the dim light of the train station, making Alec wonder idly if this man was even human or if he was some otherworldly creature sent by the gods. He was tall, not as tall as Alec but no one ever was, and he had broad shoulders, his tight shirt and waistcoat stretching over his biceps tantalisingly. The rest of his body was leaner but he clearly worked out and his fashion sense was impeccable, even to Alec’s amateur (but getting better) eyes he had style, wearing shiny black biker boots with black jeans, a silk black shirt tucked in and to finish, an eye catching wine red waistcoat cinching his waist and highlighting his chest nicely. 

It was only when the man cleared his throat suddenly that Alec realised he had been standing staring for what could have been hours and people had started to move onto the train in front of him. 

His face burning, he strode onto the train quicker than ever and hastily looked for a seat, praying that the man would not take offence at his blatant ogling and would ignore him. 

The train was packed, with five times the normal amount of people waiting for any way to get home or at least in the right direction.

Once seated, he pulled his phone out and pretended he was staring intently at the screen to avoid looking up and inevitably see the man looking at him with either curiosity (one could always hope) or plain distaste. 

But when he felt the presence of someone sitting next to him, he looked up automatically and - because the world obviously had it out for him today - only 10 inches away from him was the beautiful man with his hands in his lap and his legs crossed. Right next to Alec. 

Before Alec could decide whether to curse or thank the gods for giving him this dilemma of either hiding his attraction to this man or risking it and starting a conversation, an announcement blared through the old train speakers. 

_”Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry to announce that due to the weather conditions worsening and what looks like a snowstorm beginning, this train is going to be delayed by around 30 minutes. There will be no additional services so please remain seated and wait patiently while we try to work through this unfortunate situation.”_

“Well there goes my plan of wandering around the train and losing my seat.” Alec quipped sarcastically, unable to stop himself rolling his eyes. 

Surprisingly the man next to him chuckled and turned to look at him, while Alec internally freaked out at the prospect of having a conversation with the very person he had just blatantly checked out. 

“That’s twice you’ve made me laugh this evening, both unintentionally and extremely hard to do when I’m not in the best mood after this delay.” The man grinned, showing perfectly white teeth but Alec’s mind had shut off the minute he’d heard the man’s eloquent accent. 

Panic gripped Alec as he frantically searched for something funny to say to carry the admittedly one sided conversation on. 

“I don’t make people laugh very often.” He blurted out, cringing at himself for saying something so pathetic. He sighed and prepared himself for an awkward laugh from the man before he quickly ended the conversation. 

But miraculously the man laughed again and turned his body towards Alec properly, while Alec’s heart clenched at the closer proxemics between them. There was strangely something familiar about him, not like they’d met before (Alec would remember that) but almost a nagging feeling like he _should_ know him.

“Good looking and funny. I like you already.” Alec’s heart stuttered at those words and he shoved his hand out towards the man on a whim that they might as well introduce themselves to each other.

“I’m Alec. Well, my full name is Alexander but only my parents call me that and I don’t associate much happiness with my parents. Well my mom is okay now, it’s more my dad. Not that I don’t let people call me Alexander, it’s just most people prefer the short option and-” Alec cut himself off abruptly at the amused look on the mans face and realised he had been rambling about his name for way longer than necessary. 

“Just call me whatever you want, I’ll shut up now.” He finished lamely and looked down at his lap, horrified at his own inept social skills. 

It wasn’t surprising that he’d only ever had two boyfriends, both of whom had been friends first, boyfriends briefly and then quickly put off by Alec’s preferences of staying in, books and good wine as opposed to partying, vodka and video games like most people in their early twenties.

“Alexander.” Magnus said softly, as if trying it out for size.

And whatever Alec had said in the past about not liking to be called Alexander went flying out of the window permanently as he heard the perfect syllables roll off of Magnus’ tongue and somehow sound different than anyone else who had called him that. If everyone said his full name like Magnus did - as if it was precious and important to him - Alec wouldn’t want to hear anything else.

“Nice name. And nice backstory to accompany it,’ Magnus smirked a little at Alec’s groan of embarrassment at his words, “I’m Magnus.” He seemed to say this hesitantly as if looking at Alec’s reaction but Alec was much too busy still cringing at his embarrassing introduction.

“So, Alexander, how have you ended up on this awfully unorganised train, in what’s supposed to be the worst snowstorm of the past five years?” 

Magnus looked directly at him while saying this and Alec couldn’t help but notice his black eyeliner and hint of eyeshadow that he wore so well. He didn’t see it before but now it served to make his eyes _more_ attractive and although it might be a stereotype it gave Alec a small amount of hope that perhaps Magnus wasn’t completely straight after all.

( Not that Magnus calling Alec good looking earlier escaped his notice but thinking about that distracted him too much from answering Magnus’ question.)

“It’s my sister’s engagement party actually. I work at Branwells, the restaurant about ten minutes from here and I have to get to the centre of Manhattan before 8pm or Izzy, not to mention my mother, will kill me.” Alec can’t help but frown at his own words as he realised how unlikely it would be that he would get there on time.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think you may be late to the party, no pun intended. By the time this train actually leaves it will be 7:45 and it takes a good thirty minutes to get to the outskirts of Manhattan and that’s without factoring in the weather.” Magnus seemed sympathetic to his situation - despite practically being a stranger - as he pat Alec’s knee briefly and shuffles slightly so that their arms are touching. 

_Focus on continuing the conversation, a pat on the leg means nothing._ Alec silently chanted to himself. 

“Yeah, I’m starting to think I might not make it at all, I just really don’t want to have to call my mother and explain. She gets bad enough at these kinds of events as it is.” Alec’s tone turned slightly bitter, as he remembered the last family dinner where Maryse was brilliant until she tried to set him up with another business friend of hers. Alec can’t even remember what his name was now. 

Magnus raised an eyebrow, which looked altogether too sexy and peered around Alec, exaggeratedly looking out the smudged windows, “I think you may have an excuse tonight, Alexander.” He made a smooth gesture to the snow piling up on the ground and smiled at Alec’s immediate eye roll. 

“My mom probably won’t see the fact that it’s practically a blizzard outside, she’ll blame my job as usual.” Alec can’t stop himself from sighing slightly after he said this simply because he knows it is what Maryse will do. 

“Oh. Unsupportive parents?” Magnus questioned, “You can tell me if I’m prying,” He added, after he saw Alec’s hesitant expression.

Alec laughed, more at the notion that he would ever tell a man who looked like Magnus to stop talking to him so much. “You’re not prying, no, it’s just… a long story. And isn’t it weird to tell you when you’re technically a stranger?”

“We have time. I don’t have anything better to do and if we tell each other about ourselves we won’t be strangers anymore.” Magnus pointed out before a smirk passed over his lips, “And I think I’d quite like to hear you talk some more.” 

And as Alec looked at Magnus properly and tried to slow down his frantically beating heart, he saw in his eyes that Magnus was serious, despite the flirting, he wasn’t asking just to make conversation, he was being sincere and it was almost hard to remember that they _are_ still strangers at this point. 

So he took a deep breath and started at the beginning. 

“My parents aren’t unsupportive per se. When I told them I was gay they both came to terms with it differently.” Alec briefly registered Magnus’ raised eyebrows and flicker of a smirk at his admission of being gay and hoped it was a pleased reaction. “But my sister’s bisexual and was already out and now she’s engaged to a woman so that was never really the issue.”

“But their marriage really affected me. They’re divorced now but when I was growing up I saw how they were with each other and it made me wary of love. They were never _really_ in love with each other. And then my dad... cheated.” Alec’s tone again turned bitter subconsciously, the memory still painful to think of. Magnus surprises him by tensing up, as if he’s angry at the mere thought of cheating. Although Alec thought everyone should feel that way. 

“Cheating is unacceptable.” Magnus said behind gritted teeth, a memory clearly swirling in his eyes. 

And Alec would have to be blind to not realise that Magnus has a first-hand experience with cheating but he doesn’t ask. Even if they are talking about quite personal things, it doesn’t feel right. Yet.

“And my mom broke when she found out. There was so much going on in our family as well that it was just the cherry on top in the worst way. We were all still dealing with… a lot.” Alec continued, glancing at Magnus every now and then to check he’s still listening and not lost in his own world - not that he really would have minded, Magnus could do what he wanted - “She told him they were getting a divorce immediately but it got messy when it came to their joint company so she came to me. It’s a relatively successful law firm so both of them were determined to keep it.” Alec took another deep breath, this is where it gets a little difficult to talk about. 

Magnus seemed to sense this and leaned forwards, looking at Alec directly again, his open gaze making Alec’s insides feel like jelly. 

“Alexander, you don’t have to tell me this, we _are_ just strangers merely trying to pass the time, we can talk about anything. I don’t want you to get upset.” 

And Alec could take him up on that offer and talk about his siblings or his job, something that would be easy and probably enjoyable. But part of him thinks that it’s not telling a stranger that’s difficult because Magnus has no reason to judge him when he barely knows him. And it’s not hard to tell the story. It’s the realisation that Alec has never told people how hurt he was by the situation. In fact, now that he thinks about it, he can’t remember telling anyone the full story. He never told his mother how much her actions hurt him and he should have. Or he should have told Izzy or Clary what she had done at the very least. They would have been sympathetic (Izzy would have also been angry so it potentially would have started a family feud) and that would probably have helped him in that awful six month period where he had no idea what he wanted to do in his life.  
So Alec looked back at Magnus and shook his head minutely. 

“No, I want to tell someone. Sorry if it’s weird but I… um, feel like... I’m meant to tell you. I’ve actually never told anyone how much it hurt me.” 

Magnus smiled sadly at that, warmth in his eyes that encouraged Alec to continue. 

“My mom... tried to blackmail me into forging my dads signature and handing the company rights solely to her.” Alec heard Magnus’ slight intake of breath and it confirmed that it sounded as bad out loud as it always did in Alec’s head. 

“She said that she couldn’t do it herself because if she was found out she would lose the whole company. But because I-” Alec took a deep, heaving breath as he remembered the brutal honesty Maryse had used to try to manipulate him into forgery, “I wasn’t ‘in any danger’ if they found out that I had forged it. She thought I _could_ get away with it but to her, if I was found out it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I said no -of course- and she didn’t understand. She said I didn’t see the importance of family and how it sometimes means taking risks. She has apologised since and I can... excuse her in a sense because of how much she’s been through but it’s still one of the worst things to happen to me.”

Magnus’ eyes are blown wide with shock, clearly he didn’t expect the story to be as terrible as it truthfully was. He reached out to touch Alec’s hand and Alec almost jerked back from the shock of energy that jolted through him at Magnus’ mere touch. 

Magnus rubbed his thumb around Alec’s hand almost subconsciously and Alec relaxed into the touch, comforting and soothing him all at once. 

“We had a massive argument about everything and I quit. I was still in law school at the time but interning at the company for experience. I was meant to take over the whole company one day but that whole situation… it tarnished everything. I couldn’t even look at law in the same way. So I dropped out of law school.” Alec grinned at the awed expression on Magnus’ face. 

“Alexander… that takes a lot of courage. I’m guessing deep down you had never really wanted to go into law in the first place and that was just the last straw?” 

Alec should be stunned that Magnus had guessed correctly but it probably wasn’t that hard to guess based on him already telling Magnus he worked in a restaurant. But the way Magnus had worded it was spot on. He had never wanted to go into law. But it had been the only thing his parents had considered for him. He was the oldest, the most eager to please his parents (while Izzy rebelled constantly in her teens as most do, Alec stayed in trying to combat his feelings for other boys by studying and keeping to himself) and the ideal replacement for Maryse and Robert after their retirement. So they shaped him into the perfect lawyer and hoped that he wouldn’t back out of their perfectly thought out future. But it hadn’t worked. Because Alec had started thinking about his own life and not just the lives of others and he’d started living for himself. 

“Yeah,’ Alec breathed, surprised at how much relief he felt after telling someone what Maryse had done. “But I fell into a bit of depression after I confronted her because I knew I didn’t want to go back to law but I was suddenly aware that I had no idea what to do for the rest of my life. I felt lost for six months and they’re still the worst months of my life.” 

Magnus laughed bitterly, a knowing look on his face and Alec felt a pang of sympathy that Magnus had clearly been through something similar at a point in his life. 

“Unfortunately I can relate. I won’t go into it too much but my mother... she committed suicide when I was young, my step-father felt it was my fault and I came here from Indonesia as an orphan to live with a distant relative. I was probably depressed for several of my teenage years but the one moment that really sent me into a slump was when I walked in on my girlfriend cheating on me with one of my friends.” Magnus’ face became a mask of indifference but Alec could see it still hurt and he tried to help the way Magnus had for him by tentatively setting his hand on Magnus’ forearm. 

Magnus blinked as if coming out of a trance and he flashed a grateful smile at Alec (which effectively turned Alec into a puddle) before he sighed and continued, “It turned into a vicious spiral of me trying to get over her by sleeping with _her_ ex boyfriend, moving to London for six months and burning everything she had touched in an attempt to burn the memories. I definitely wasn’t the nicest person to be around in that time. But my friends and my job got me out of the depression that I hadn’t even realised I was in until I felt happy again.” 

There was silence in the air after Magnus finished speaking, not uncomfortably so, just a silence to absorb both the things they just told each other. It was almost... peaceful. 

Eventually Magnus looked at Alec with curiosity in his eyes.  
“So ex lawyer turned chef, huh? That is quite the change.” Alec knew he wasn’t being questioned but there was a hint of intrigue underlying Magnus’ statement that he picked up on. 

“Are you sure you want another story? Are you not bored of me yet?” Alec joked, though part of him believed Magnus was only talking to him still out of pity. 

“You insult yourself, darling. You’re one of the most interesting people I’ve met in a long time.” Magnus looked down after that as if he felt he was saying too much but after a moment he looked back up, his soft brown eyes intense, “I somehow feel comfortable when I’m speaking to you, Alexander. And normally that takes me a _long_ time.”

Alec’s breath caught in his throat, his heart beating faster as he looked at the sincerity in Magnus’ eyes. 

“Well…. thank you. This one’s a nicer story.” Alec chuckled nervously, trying desperately to stop blushing at Magnus’ kindness. 

“I’m listening.” Magnus leaned into Alec, even more, making his heart race with adrenaline and joy at the sheer unlikeliness that he meet someone like Magnus on a random train. But he had.

“So after all of that with my mother had blown over and I’d spent six months wallowing in loneliness,” Alec meant it as a joke but he’s easily betrayed by his voice breaking suddenly, showing how true the statement was and he looked down in embarrassment. 

“Hey,’ Alec looked up to see Magnus gazing at him with such care that a lump formed in his throat and tears started to burn at the corners of his eyes. “I can’t speak for everyone but there is nothing shameful about being lonely, Alexander. You can feel lonely even when you’re not alone. I understand that probably more than you think.” 

And in that exact moment, Alec finds himself hoping desperately that he can get to know Magnus. They could exchange numbers, go on dates (to all the restaurants that Alec approves of) and have deep phone conversations while falling asleep. It might be crazy and unrealistic but how often do people meet on a train in a snowstorm and talk about the things they’ve already talked about, when they met only ten minutes ago.

It’s rare enough that Alec finds people he can tolerate being around, let alone feel comfortable enough to practically tell his life story to. Magnus is something special, he’s sure of it.

“Have you always known exactly what to say?” Alec grinned, trying to show his appreciation to Magnus without laying it on too thick.

“I’m just naturally wise, darling.” The endearment seemed like an extension of Magnus’ natural pattern of speech and yet Alec still had to fight the blush that it caused. 

“Well, the truth is you’re right, although I’m starting to guess that you’re used to that.’ Magnus’ lips quirked into a smile briefly at that and Alec silently celebrated that he was the cause of that. 

God, he was so charmed by this man. 

“I was surrounded by my amazing sister and her fiance Clary, who’s also one my best friends. Another friend Simon tried so hard to help me and I had three other close friends who I knew I could tell anything to and I still can. But even when I was with them, laughing and having a good time, I still felt empty. Like I was just letting my life go by when I could be doing something I had always wanted to do.” 

Magnus is nodding with an expression of pained nostalgia that makes Alec think he knows this feeling firsthand and he’s suddenly filled with compassion for the man - who thirty minutes ago he didn’t know - who’s so obviously been hurt in his past. Part of Alec wants to offer him a hug, the other part wants to offer him a drink. Truthfully he wouldn’t mind offering both.

“So I used my savings to book a plane to Italy to visit my friend Aline and her girlfriend and I ended up travelling across Europe for nine months, I pretty much visited every country in western Europe and it changed my entire outlook on life. I met a few…” Alec paused, wondering if he was oversharing before deciding to throw caution to the wind, ‘Well, I met a few guys there, lets just say and I explored my sexuality in a way that I never felt comfortable doing here.” 

Magnus raised his eyebrows and a smirk flitted over his lips in a way that made Alec’s body feel hot all over. 

“Do go on, this trip sounds extremely interesting all of a sudden.” Magnus teased, his smile widening at Alec when he blushed. 

Alec coughed as an attempt at stalling but deep down he was enjoying this lighter, flirty conversation. It was refreshing and it didn’t feel forced at all which just gave him more hope that this wasn’t going to be random, one off conversation. Alec was now determined to at least get Magnus’ number out of this interaction.

“So while all of that was fun, I ended up realising my passion for cooking when I was roped into a class while in France. I’ve always enjoyed making new dishes and I was naturally good at it but this was a tough class and it was unlike anything I’d ever spontaneously tried at home. The chef was so strict but it meant I learnt quickly and he actually asked me to continue the classes because he thought I had potential. So I took a month’s worth of classes and learnt a lot about technique and the right way to cook. And then I moved on to Germany and found classes there and it just continued like that. At first I didn’t think about turning the new passion I’d found into a career because I was already 22 at this point and I thought I’d missed my chance.” 

Alec paused, remembering the sense of loss he’d felt as he’d finally booked his plane back to New York, thinking that he would have to go back and find any old job when he’d rather be pursuing a career as a chef. 

“But when I came back to New York after so many months of travelling and learning and eating, I realised that my entire perspective had changed because of this new love I had for cooking. I took a year of courses with different chef’s and I found my own style as well and my own favourite recipes. And I got some cooking qualifications and recommendations and started applying for jobs and within two weeks I had one at a restaurant called the Jade Wolf. I stayed there for a few months for the experience and then somehow ended up getting the job I have now at Branwells. That was two years ago and I’ve been promoted a bunch of times so I’m now assistant head chef and it’s probably my biggest achievement so far.” 

Alec couldn’t hold back the smile on his face as he remembered the long hard hours he’d spent working on new recipes in his kitchen or at the massive one in Branwells. Hours that had paid off more than he had ever hoped for. 

Magnus had a small smile on his face and a faraway look in his eyes that made Alec want to know what was going through his mind. “That is a happier story, Alexander. Quite… inspiring too. I commend you.” Alec had always cursed his ability to blush at the smallest of compliments but Magnus was bringing it out in him in full force.

“So what about your job? With how smart you seem, I’m imagining you in an academic setting or running your own business. Although I can tell you’re also wearing very fashionable clothes so you could be a fashion designer. Or a model, really-” Alec forced his brain to shut his mouth up and glanced at Magnus hesitantly. 

“You can just tell me to shut up next time. I have a tendency to ramble.” He added, hoping Magnus wouldn’t find him as annoying as he found himself. 

“I find it cute actually.” Magnus admitted, looking a little coy. 

Alec was convinced Magnus was now flirting openly with him and he had to tamp down the urge to panic. Thankfully before he had to reply, Magnus continued.

“I do run my own business, so one of your guesses was spot on. I love it and I’m blessed that I get to do what I love everyday. But truthfully my life revolves around my job and my friends equally and I like to keep that balance because my friends are the reason I’m still here so I owe them everything.” Magnus said this carefully and Alec got the feeling his job was slightly private. It didn’t bother him but he noticed it regardless. 

Suddenly the train started screeching and with a slight jolt it pulled out of the station finally, which caused some people around them to cheer, while others made snide comments about the wait being over thirty minutes. Alec hadn’t noticed this.

“Tell me about these friends then.” Alec changed the topic smoothly, hoping to keep the mood light and not pry into Magnus’ business when it seemed he wanted to stay vague about it. 

Magnus’ face lit up at that and he beamed at Alec, “They are my rocks. I treasure them more than any amount of money or fame in the world,’ That was an odd way to phrase it unless Magnus _was_ famous or rich but Alec guessed it was more of a figure of speech than anything else. 

“I’ve known Catarina and Ragnor since I moved here when I was eleven. They lived around the corner from my foster home and I became best friends with them both after starting school with them. And Raphael is my foster brother who I’ve been best friends with since pretty much the first time we met, although he would beg to differ. I couldn’t ask to have better people in my life especially because of how hard my childhood was. They are incredible to me…” Magnus stopped and looked at Alec with a hint of a question in his eyes. “I don’t know why but I feel like I want to tell you everything about me. It feels easy.” 

Alec had long given up trying to calm down by now, he just let his heart race in excitement and his mind go blank with panic.

“I… feel exactly the same way, Magnus. I don’t warm up to people easily and I have big trust issues because of my parents but I can see myself trusting you.” Alec doesn’t add that he feels like he already does trust Magnus because the last thing he wants to do is scare him off. 

Magnus smiled widely and Alec felt a warmth spreading through him that he believes is a mixture of attraction, nerves and hope. He felt a smile stretching across his face too and imagines they look quite strange to the passengers around them; just smiling at each other. 

Alec coughed deliberately at the same time that Magnus looked away and Alec searched for a conversation starter that would stop him from just gazing at Magnus’ face. 

“So, cats or dogs?” Alec just about stopped himself from swearing aloud at how ridiculous a question that was but Magnus chuckled and Alec wondered how he could feel more pride at making Magnus laugh than when he gets praised by his boss. 

“Cats by far. I have one and I couldn’t imagine my life without one.” Magnus unlocked his phone and quickly brought up his camera roll. Alec couldn’t help but see a brief flash of what looked like a shirtless selfie and he felt dizzy just from a glance. Magnus was _ripped_. Before he could fully get over this, Magnus was pointing his phone directly at Alec where a tiny, white cat was displayed, curled up on what seemed to be Magnus’ legs. 

“He’s cute! I have a cat too but he hates me. I like dogs too so I’d have either.” Alec had long given up on trying to get Church to like him, the cat just had a negative disposition. 

“How could anyone hate you, Alexander?” Magnus murmured, a teasing lilt to his voice but eyes that were soft and serious. 

Alec huffed in denial, for lack of any better reaction and just stared into Magnus’ eyes for a moment. The moment became more intense and poignant as the seconds ticked by and Alec only found himself more attracted to Magnus the longer they looked at each other.

Typically his mother chose that moment to ring and his ringtone of ‘Karma’ by Years and Years went off so loudly that a man opposite them swore in surprise. 

Alec glanced apologetically at both the man and Magnus, before reluctantly accepting the call and resigning himself to the conversation. 

“Alec? Where are you?” Maryse demanded, almost as soon as Alec had put the phone to his ear. 

“Hi mom, I’m fine thanks for asking.” Alec couldn’t help but ridicule her blunt conversation opener and he watched Magnus smile slightly out of the corner of his eye. 

“Yes, yes, I’m glad you’re okay but where are you, Alec, seriously?” 

“I’m stuck on the train, have you seen the weather? I had to wait two hours after my shift for a train to even arrive and then it had a thirty minute delay once we were on as well.”

Maryse hummed with a tone that sounded like she was trying to find a way to blame Alec somehow. 

“Why didn’t you book today off?” And there it was. It always came back to his job. 

“Because it's a Saturday, mom. The busiest day of the week regardless of whether Isabelle’s engagement party is happening or not. And I didn’t want to take time off anyway. Contrary to popular belief,’ Alec lowered his voice slightly, aware that only a couple of people were chatting which made the passengers prone to eavesdropping, “I actually do love my job.” 

He heard Maryse’s small sigh and it allowed him to almost picture her as if she was in front of him. She was probably sitting on the edge of a chair in a room near to the party, her shoulders tense and her flattering and probably expensive dress (no matter her faults, no one could deny who Isabelle got her fashion interest from) still looking perfectly uncreased. But her face was probably fixed in an annoyed expression and a frown would be etched on her forehead where it’s still naturally quite smooth. 

“Well to each their own, Alec. You know my opinion so I won’t repeat it,’ Before Alec recovered from the shock of his mother not taking an opportunity to discuss her disapproval of his career, she moved on to her next favourite topic. His dating life.

“You don’t have a date tonight, do you?” She asked, a sprinkling of hope in her tone; which almost made Alec soften towards her, before remembering that she was probably asking so that when he said no, she could start scouting men out for him before he even got to the venue. Her lack of belief in his ability to ask men out was offensive albeit painfully accurate. 

“No but mom please don’t start harassing men to see if they’re single. It’s embarrassing.”

“Alec, I’m your mother and I am allowed to be embarrassing.’ Maryse’s voice changed and she carried on in a more motherly tone, “I just want you to be happy with someone, really. I know I’m high maintenance but I only do it for you because I care so much.” 

Part of Alec was touched and the other part wanted to yell about how she feels one way about his love life and a completely different way about his job. But he refrains. 

“Yeah, I know mom. I should probably go, I’m on a busy train and I hate it when other people are on the phone their whole journey so…” 

“Yes about that train. Hurry it up! Isabelle wants you here as soon as possible and you are her man of honour. Not to mention you’re technically Clarissa’s head brides...man as well. I’ll see you soon.” Maryse had never been one for prolonged goodbyes. Proven by Alec’s now hung up phone call. Probably a good thing considering Alec was about to ask how she expected him to get his train to hurry up.

He turned back to Magnus with relief, noticing that Magnus had been watching him already as he very obviously glanced away from Alec’s direction. 

“That went better than expected.” Alec was still a little surprised at how Maryse had been so civil. Maybe she’d had a glass of champagne already and was tipsy.

“How so?” Magnus inquired, looking curiously at Alec. 

“Well, for one she didn’t take the opportunity to lecture me about my career for ten minutes. Which she always does. And she started to go crazy about me not having a date and talked about setting me up with any guy but when I called it out she explained that it was because she cares about me and wants me to be happy. Which is unusual.” Alec finished slowly, running through how pleasant Maryse really had been and feeling more suspicious by the minute. 

“I know you didn’t ask for my advice, Alexander but I think your mom probably does have your best interests at heart - now at least - but she has trouble expressing it. So she resorts to bluntness and honesty.” Magnus reasoned, his expression growing more serious as he talked. Alec also noticed that he used hand gestures to emphasise his points and he couldn’t deny that he found it endearing. 

“That’s the problem though, I know she does care and that’s why she’s so on my case all the time but sometimes it comes across as more selfish than selfless. Like how she sets me up with random lawyer friends and can’t accept me wanting to find my own dates. It’s frustrating more than anything.” 

“She sets you up with lawyer friends?” Magnus repeated incredulously. 

“She phones first and asks if I’m busy on a random evening. Then she subtly mentions a friend of hers being single. I’ve started acting stupid about it like I have no idea what she’s trying to do but she actually believes that act so it just fuels her to keep doing it.” Alec rolled his eyes, remembering her talking to him like he was five years old and couldn’t comprehend what a date was.

_“He’s so intelligent, Alec, he’s getting his masters this year. You should meet him actually, he seemed interested in you when I showed him a picture.”_ Maryse always said, trying for casual but falling short at obvious. 

“Did you like any of them?” Magnus interrupted his thoughts, sounding a little _too_ interested but that was probably just Alec reading into things. 

“No... ‘ Alec said carefully, not wanting to get his hopes up, “They’re all too obsessed with their jobs and only want to talk about themselves really. It’s always fun breaking the news to my mom though.” 

Magnus chuckled, “Your mom sounds like quite a woman.” 

“She is actually. Despite all my complaints about her, she has changed since the situation with the business and I know deep down she only asked me to do that because of the stress of the divorce and the company amongst other things. We’ve been through a lot… the whole family have.” Alec thought about expanding on that but quickly decided against it, sure he felt a connection with Magnus but one specific topic was a little _too_ personal to drop out there. 

“Well, at least you’ve tried dating recently. The last date I had was two years ago.” Magnus sighed self-deprecatingly. 

_“Two years?_ How have _you_ not had a date in two years? Have you seen yourself?” Alec tried to tamp his blatant attraction for Magnus down but he didn’t really care at that point. How could someone who looked like Magnus not have dated in two years? 

Magnus smirked at that, “Thank you Alexander. The truth is although I’ve been asked out and I’ve considered asking men and women out myself, it’s never felt like the right time or the right person.” 

“So you haven’t.... I mean… for two years?” Alec immediately felt mortified that he’d asked that and he was about to apologise profusely when he heard Magnus laugh, a deep throaty laugh that succeeded in making Alec even more attracted to him.

“God, no. My life doesn’t revolve around sex but I don’t think I could have gone this long. That’s where the beauty of hookup apps came into my life. I stated that I was looking for nothing more than a hookup in my bio and that’s been the extent of my relationships for two years.” Magnus shrugged but Alec thought he looked a little sad. 

“That sounds… lonely. We seem to have more in common than I thought.” It was sad to think that Magnus had gone so long with only casual hookups and his friends to keep him company. Although truthfully it mirrored Alec’s life perfectly. 

“Well… it can be. But I love my job and I’m lucky to be able to do the things I do and the people in my life are great. It would be nice to have someone to share that with though.” Magnus admitted looking at Alec with something that looked like hope in his eyes. 

Alec almost felt like he was hallucinating this whole conversation. Because how could someone who looked like Magnus Bane did and was also kind and funny be looking at Alec like he was interested? Could he be? 

“Yeah, I feel the same. It’s like my life is so good now but it feels like something is missing. Or someone really.” Alec couldn’t for the life of him figure out how to ask Magnus for his number without sounding hopelessly desperate. And his stop was coming up. 

Magnus smiled in agreement and cleared his throat slightly, “So what stop are you?” 

“Penn station. You?” 

Magnus raised his eyebrows, “Mine’s Penn too, funnily enough.” 

Alec silently rejoiced at this information, hopefully while they walked out of the station he could pluck up the courage to ask Magnus for his number. 

“That’s coincidental, I mean not… in a bad way but just because it’s already strange that we met on this train and have talked so much and our stop is the same. Really it’s…” Alec trailed off at the once again amused expression on Magnus’ face. 

“I know you told me to stop you from rambling but I find it cute. It’s like your mouth just won’t listen to your brain and keeps going _on and on_.” Magnus laughed at Alec’s affronted expression. 

“It doesn’t sound cute when you say it like that!” Alec exclaimed, cheeks reddening from embarrassment and the fact Magnus had called him cute. 

“Well, it is. I’m an honest man, Alexander.” 

Before Alec could force his brain to focus on a reply to that, the train wheezed to a stop at Penn Station. 

Magnus pulled a chunky cable knit scarf out of his satchel - it was exactly the same wine red colour as his waistcoat which was no surprise - and wrapped it fluidly around his neck before standing up and looking questioningly at Alec. 

“This _is_ your stop too, isn’t it?” He asked, successfully snapping Alec out of the dazed trance he’d been in, watching Magnus flex his neck and fling the scarf around his head with control. 

“Yeah, uh I was just waiting till you were done getting your stuff together.” Alec mumbled lamely, quickly standing up and throwing his rucksack on his back before following Magnus to the doors. A few people stared as they got off the train probably grateful that the two passengers who were talking the loudest were finally getting off.

Why was he so undeniably attracted to everything Magnus did? Well truthfully Alec knew why. Magnus was the epitome of Alec’s type. Kind, compassionate and confident as well as classy, graceful and so effortlessly beautiful it’s almost painful to see. 

They stepped onto the platform of the station into the freezing cold snow that was coming down fast in blizzards around them. Magnus glanced at Alec and gestured to the exit before hurrying off towards it and Alec quickly followed, understanding his desire to move quickly and out of the biting weather.  
They got into the station, where it was slightly warmer and at least out of the snow and paused to warm up for a second. 

Alec looked at Magnus, who had glistening particles of snow melting in his hair and his face flushed slightly from the cold. He looked like the most beautiful person Alec had ever seen. As Magnus looked at him curiously, Alec realised he’d been caught staring at him for probably the sixth time and he blurted out the first thing that came into his head to pretend he hadn’t been checking Magnus out once again. 

“Where do you live?” He asked before realising how that sounded and shaking his head quickly, “God, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded, I was just wondering if you were going far in this weather? It seems pretty dangerous.”

Magnus’ eyes softened at that and he stepped closer to Alec. “I’m not going far, I live on 6th Avenue. I normally walk and I doubt I’ll be able to get a cab in this weather anyway so I’ll probably risk it and walk carefully.” He said this casually but Alec could see the hint of worry in Magnus’ eyes.

“My sister’s engagement party is at the Plaza in Broadway so that’s a similar route. Do you mind me walking with you? I feel like I have no chance of getting a taxi either.” Alec felt a spark of hope that their destinations were so similar and his own apartment was on Park Avenue which boded well if they ended up exchanging numbers and going out together. But Alec was _definitely_ getting ahead of himself there. 

“Of course I don’t mind you walking with me, Alec. It would actually be nice to have your company during this weather.” Magnus pulled some gloves out of his bag now - which Alec was starting to think contained everything - and pulled them on smoothly before turning to Alec. 

“Do you want to let your mother know you’re having to walk there? It’s about twenty minutes from here not factoring the snow in.” 

Alec considered it but it would only cause Maryse to demand why he couldn’t stop the snow or apparate directly into the building. 

“No let’s get going. She’ll know I’m there as soon as I arrive, it’s like she has a tracking device on me.”

Magnus laughed and briefly grabbed Alec’s arm to pull him towards the exit and Alec was slightly ashamed at how quickly his heart sped up at such an innocent touch.

The snow looked even more harsh when they were surrounded by the bright lights and skyscrapers of New York and Alec shivered and pulled his coat tighter around him. 

Magnus was also shaking his head at the flurry of snow falling and he looked at Alec mournfully. 

“Speed walking it is.” 

Alec chuckled and nodded before stepping closer to Magnus. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you if you fall.” Once again, Alec’s lack of filter between his brain and his mouth had come to ruin the cool demeanor he was trying to give off. 

“I- I mean um…” Alec trailed off as he realised he didn’t know what he meant.

Luckily Magnus seemed happily surprised as he looked down at the covered ground and smiled before looking at Alec, “You’re a sweet man, Alexander. I don’t think you realise that.” 

That was it. Alec was asking Magnus out before they parted ways tonight. The world was clearly presenting him with an opportunity in the form of a beautiful man and he could not pass it up. 

They started the potentially treacherous walk in silence but gradually Alec started asking Magnus how long he’d lived in New York and that led to a conversation about school and their favourite subjects and then discussing how much they’d both hated poetry at first but grown to appreciate it. The conversation never lulled and Alec started to think he hadn’t been deluding himself into thinking that he and Magnus were well matched because the proof was in the way they were able to talk so easily about anything and everything. 

Magnus started shivering more as the snow and chill got stronger and Alec realised despite the scarf and gloves Magnus was still only wearing a waistcoat with a thin shirt underneath as protection against the cold.

“Here, you’re going to freeze to death, Magnus.” He said, shrugging off his black Reiss overcoat and offering it to Magnus. 

Magnus’ eyes were wide as if he couldn’t believe Alec would do such a thing and it made Alec wonder what type of people Magnus had known that have treated him in a way which would make a simple gesture seem so surprising to him. 

“But then you’ll be cold…” Magnus protested weakly, even as his body continued to shake.

“I’m okay, I’m wearing a turtleneck and I have a t-shirt underneath it. Just take the coat, Magnus.” Alec handed Magnus the coat and watched as he hesitated with it in his hands before putting it on and smiling gratefully at Alec. Alec felt a pang of longing in his chest seeing Magnus wearing his clothes - even if it was a bulky coat.

“You know, I thought that today was going to be terrible when I got stuck waiting for the train earlier. But I have to admit, you’ve really cheered me up, Alexander.” Magnus’ eyes were bright and happy as Alec walked slowly beside him, their arms brushing together. 

And all of a sudden, a crazy idea came to Alec. Crazy but also exciting and spontaneous; everything Alec normally wasn’t. 

“Are you doing anything tonight?” Alec started, attempting to sound casual while his heart was beating out of his chest. 

Magnus scoffed, “No, I wish but all I have in store is watching Netflix and falling asleep on my couch with my cat really. You must think I’m so glamorous.”

Alec thought he was adorable but he didn’t blurt that out luckily. He hesitated instead and then just threw caution to the wind. 

“Do you want to come to my sister’s engagement party with me? I know we just met tonight and for all I know you could be a serial killer - not that you seem like one - I just like you as a person and we seem to have… easy conversations… and I just wondered- You don’t have to come as my date of course but-” 

Alec was cut off by Magnus stopping and turning to him and grabbing his hands between his gloved ones. His eyes were soft and they stood out in the darkness which calmed Alec down. 

“You’re rambling, Alexander.” He said quietly but the fond, teasing words carried in the small space between them. “If you are sure about it, then I would love to come with you. As your date.” Magnus smiled and his eyes were smiling too. Alec was sure he was probably sporting the same expression. 

“And I’m not a serial killer. Not that I would tell you if I was.” Magnus grinned teasingly and Alec groaned in embarrassment, lifting his hands up to cover his face before remembering Magnus was still holding them. He dropped them quickly, mourning the loss of contact between them. 

Magnus must have realised because he grabbed one of Alec’s hands and started walking again, in a movement so smooth Alec was almost jealous. Magnus had so easily initiated their hand-holding while Alec had internally flailed over merely speaking to Magnus. 

“We’ll have to stop at my apartment so I can change.” Magnus continued. 

“You don’t need to change, you look bea- uh... great.” 

Magnus side-eyed Alec almost contemplatively before sighing, “You are too kind for your own good, Alec. And you have no guile which is a nice change.’ Magnus smiled to himself and his expression seemed far away for a moment, “But I do need to change because I’ve been wearing this outfit for eight hours too long and this weather has done it no favours. Also you’ll freeze if I don’t give you your coat back soon so I can grab one of mine while we’re there.”

“Okay, if you insist.” Alec gave in easily to Magnus, already feeling like he would go anywhere for this man. Whether he should be worried about feeling that way was still to be determined.

They reached Magnus’ apartment block less than five minutes later and Alec was shocked that it was one of the most expensive places to buy - something he knew because Maryse had almost bought him an apartment here for his 21st birthday before he’d said no because of the astronomical prices and instead reluctantly let her buy his current place for him instead. 

As they started towards the entrance, Alec noticed a couple of paps hanging around on the street opposite - clearly braving the cold weather for a few shots of a celeb. 

“Oh, Magnus sorry they’re probably here for me. I’m a bit of a socialite because of my mom and the company.” Alec scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, unsure if Magnus was going to be annoyed. 

Instead Magnus looked almost amused, curious and slightly bitter as he rolled his eyes and speeded up his pace to get to the warmth of the apartment lobby quicker. 

When they were safely inside, Alec shook his hair to rid it of the inevitable melted snow and brushed off his sleeves, relishing in the heated air that had seemed so impossible minutes ago. Magnus meanwhile had taken off Alec’s jacket, his scarf and gloves and was peering out the tinted windows at the paparazzi that were still loitering across the road. 

“Magnus, don’t freak out about it, it’s probably for some stupid gossip magazine or something. Plus I don’t read any press or tabloid posts or anything. It just breeds fear of something that doesn’t deserve to have a reaction.” Alec shrugged, hoping Magnus wouldn’t dwell on the matter. 

“You… don’t read news articles or anything?” Magnus seemed transfixed on this suddenly, as he moved away from the window and started to stride towards the elevators. 

“I mean, I know about the important stuff like any natural disasters or terrorist attacks or what the president has done wrong recently but I make it a habit not to read any stupid gossip sites or tabloids that just scream fake news.”

Magnus looked oddly relieved but Alec guessed it was because he realised that the paps were only trying to find a city scandal and not a global headline. 

“That’s a good attitude to have. You must have no clue about the latest A listers then right?” Magnus walked into the large and classy elevator and tapped the button to the 21st floor - which seemed to be the penthouse suite. 

“Not really. I know who the most current singers are because of Izzy but I couldn’t tell you how the Kardashians are or which business is making the most money at the moment. I just don’t need that information really.” 

“But your family must have to know things like that, surely. The business aspect, I mean.” Magnus looked intrigued so Alec decided to entertain it.

“My mom’s the only one who cares about stuff like that but she only really cares about the numbers and which companies will be the most successful as clients. She doesn’t care who’s running it and what the latest gossip surrounding it is if it’s doing well.” 

Magnus nodded pensively and opened his mouth to speak again just as the elevator pinged, the doors opened and they walked out towards the large mahogany doors at the end of a dimly lit, carpeted corridor. 

“Do you, uh, want me to wait outside?” Alec said, suddenly feeling intrusive and as if he needed to allow Magnus the opportunity to have some space. 

Magnus rolled his eyes as he unlocked his door, “Don’t be silly, Alexander. I’ll go straight to my room and change, you can sit wherever you want and feel free to make yourself a drink or get any food out the fridge.” 

While Magnus had been talking, they had walked into his apartment which was more like a goddamn mansion. A giant spiraling staircase was in the middle of a massive open plan space, which had two corner sofas on the left hand side and three squashy beanbags and on the right side, a breathtakingly huge kitchen was gleaming at Alec. It was like a dream. A beautiful island worktop with plenty of utensils spread out while a sparkling steel fridge was located in the corner. 

Alec tore his gaze away from the nicest kitchen he’d ever seen and noticed a hallway to the right leading to what was most likely an office, as he could see a computer chair and desk through the clear panes next to the door. 

But what really stood out was the perfect view of the New York skyline from the top floor as they towered above the opposite building and could see most of the Broadway area and bright lights emanating from it. 

The staircase led up to what Alec could only assume was Magnus’ bedroom and probably a few guest ones and he fought a blush wondering what Magnus’ bedroom looked like and if he would ever see it. He hoped he would, not even in a sexual way, at least not only in that way because he genuinely liked Magnus and wanted this to go somewhere because it felt like it could.

“Your place is…” Alec trailed off, searching for the word to explain how awestruck he was.

“Over the top? Extra? Too big?” Magnus suggested, anxiously scanning Alec’s face as if he was scared to hear his answer. 

“I was going to say incredible.” Alec admitted, looking directly at Magnus with what he hoped was honesty in his eyes, “Seriously, the interior design on this place is amazing.” 

“Thank you, I did spend a lot of time working on it.” 

“You came up with this design?” Alec knew he looked gormless; and his expression probably gave away his surprise but the idea that Magnus had designed and then executed his own home’s layout just added to Alec’s instinct that Magnus was highly intelligent and creative.

“Well yes. I had help actually making it a reality but yes I designed it, helped build it and then decorated it.” 

“You’re full of surprises.” Alec couldn’t stop the words from slipping out his mouth but he didn’t even mind at this point. He’d made it to Magnus’ place through no filter comments and sheer luck so clearly Magnus saw _something_ in him.

“I try to be.” Magnus said, looking up at Alec through his lashes, which made Alec’s blood start thrumming a little faster in his veins. He didn’t realise they were standing so close. He could see the tiny droplets of water - that must be melted snow - in Magnus’ hair and the brilliant specks of gold in his eyes as they breathed the same air. And subconsciously they leaned towards each other, disregarding the fact that they’d met that day and were dangerously late to the party that Alec had _just_ invited Magnus to.  
Just before their lips touched, as Alec held his breath and closed his eyes, a shrill text alert rang through the air and Alec knew it was coming from Magnus because he was close enough to feel the vibrations through his chest pocket.

Magnus sighed, his breath washing over Alec’s face and smelling of mint and pastries. He stepped away from Alec, the moment of spontaneity gone and shook his head apologetically. 

“I should really get ready if we’re going to make it before midnight to your sister’s party. I wouldn’t want to make a bad first impression, would I?” Magnus winked and Alec felt his heart stop. God, this man was giving him some serious cardiovascular problems. 

He watched as Magnus gracefully made his way up his stairs and stopped at the top to shout, “Make yourself at home, Alexander. I’ll try not to take too long.” 

He didn’t take _that_ long, in all fairness. But to Alec, who had been riding the high of speaking to a man who excited him and made him feel like a teenager all over again, it felt like hours. He seated himself in the kitchen (no surprises) and gazed around at the equipment before pulling his phone out and shooting a quick text to Izzy apologising about how late he was but promising she’d forgive him when she saw why. Then he wasted the time looking through the notifications from the group chat that Izzy forced him into with Clary, Simon and Maia (that he secretly loves) and uploading a quick food picture to his instagram.

About fifteen minutes later - not that Alec had been watching the minutes tick by on his phone - Magnus made his way down the stairs and he looked… _incredible_. He had changed into a looser wine red shirt and had thrown some necklaces on which really drew Alec’s eyes to his chest. His trousers were smart, black and perfectly tailored which didn’t help Alec’s lingering eyes but it was his jacket that was the most captivating. It was plain black at first glance but when Alec looked properly at it, he realised it was threaded with silver which made it twinkle and shine in the darker lighting. 

“Wow, uh-’ Alec coughed when his voice came out lower than intended and he saw Magnus’ eyes widen in… was that lust? 

“You look amazing. Like, really, that jacket is so… wow.” He stepped closer to Magnus to absent-mindedly run his hand over the material, forgetting that it was Magnus’ arm he was practically caressing. Suddenly he realised and immediately dropped his hand, internally cringing.

“Oh god, that was so weird, I just stroked your arm…” Alec trailed off, not knowing why he was such a mess tonight but also internally knowing it had everything to do with the man standing in front of him. 

“Darling, stop panicking over everything. I’m not going to throw you out for stroking my arm. The jacket is intriguing, it’s a custom from Yves Saint Laurent and I wasn’t going to wear it because of the weather but I figured I’d throw a coat over this and hopefully no damage will be done.”  
In the back of Alec’s mind he wondered who Magnus was to have a custom YSL jacket but he shrugged it off and smiled at Magnus genuinely. 

“Well I’m ready to go when you are.” He started towards the hallway of Magnus’ apartment but noticed three bouquets of flowers on top of a mahogany cabinet that Magnus had placed near his stairs. 

Without meaning to invade Magnus’ privacy he noticed one of the small cards stuck inside the flowers and looked at Magnus in surprise. 

“Was it your birthday recently?” He asked, carefully. 

Magnus’ eyes widened but he quickly schooled his features when he saw Alec standing next to the bouquets and nodded, biting his lip. 

“It was, yes. I haven’t had the time to sort out vases yet.” Magnus said this perhaps too airily and Alec thought he possibly felt a little uncomfortable talking about his birthday. Maybe Magnus didn’t like the fact he was getting older?

Alec chose to nod in response more because he didn’t know how to react when he could now tell that Magnus was more private than he’d originally assumed. There was nothing wrong with that of course and they had only known each other for just under two hours but he felt a little out of his depth in this incredible apartment that was clearly owned by someone rich, except that someone was Magnus and he hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about his job. 

God, Alec just needed to calm down and focus on the more important things. Such as getting to Izzy’s party before it ended. 

“We should probably get going then.” He said, turning towards the door while Magnus grabbed a black coat off a hook on the wall.

* * *

Magnus shut and locked his door with a click and followed Alec towards the elevator, wondering why he was so scared to tell Alec - a man who somehow had no idea who he was - the truth about who he was and what he did. 

He would eventually, he’d have to but… not yet. It was quite nice to be able to just be himself for once.

* * *

They talked about trivial things as they walked in the freezing temperatures to the party. Alec didn’t mind though, it was nice to know that Magnus had the same opinion as he did about social media being toxic yet addictive. And although it wasn’t quite as deep a topic, they also discovered they watched many of the same tv shows and agreed that several were underrated and deserved more viewers. 

Alec hated himself for thinking something so sappy but the cold of the unyielding snowstorm didn’t seem quite as bad with Magnus next to him, so bright and full of warmth and kindness. 

It didn’t take them long to reach the plaza and Alec glanced at Magnus when they got inside the lobby, suddenly feeling nervous about spontaneously asking him to come with him.

“Okay, so please don’t be weirded out if my sister starts interrogating you, she can be a little… intense. And her fiance, Clary, is my best friend from high school so don’t listen to a word she says because she’ll be trying to embarrass me. My two friends Simon and Maia will probably be more normal with you but Simon doesn’t shut up so-” Alec trailed off as he realised he sounded a lot like Simon right now.

“I’m sure I can handle them, darling.” Magnus cut him off smoothly, “Just relax and stop overthinking about all of this.” 

“I wouldn’t say I’m overthinking, I’m really just warning you about what you’re getting yourself into.” Alec was joking but Magnus raised an eyebrow and shook his head. 

“I don’t need you to warn me, as if I’m going to change my mind and leave.” Magnus crowded suddenly into Alec’s space, their face inches away from each other. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, Alexander.” 

“Well, that’s uh…” Alec’s brain was having trouble connecting to his vocal box, when he was so close to Magnus. 

“I think the word you’re looking for is good? I hope.” Magnus teased, a playful smirk on his face as he shrugged his coat off and slung it over his arm. 

“Yes of course it’s good. Magnus I’m… I’m really glad we ended up being on the same train for so long.” 

Magnus’ eyes softened and he reached out to grab Alec’s hand and held it gently.  
“Me too, Alexander.” He murmured, “Now shall we?” He held out his arm to Alec, who suddenly realised that they had been chatting idly when they should have been getting inside the party before his mother had an aneurysm. 

“Yes, we really should.” He ignored Magnus’ arm and grabbed his hand back instead, confidence coursing through him now they’ve both clarified what they want to get out of this spontaneous evening spent together. They’re on the same page. 

Magnus squeezed his hand and they walked towards the room with a bouncer in front and a stand with “Congratulations Isabelle and Clary!” written on it in curling letters. 

“Alec Lightwood.” Alec stated to the guy standing with a list in his hands. He heard Magnus choke slightly next to him for reasons unknown but he couldn’t ponder on it for long.

The guy scanned the list, quickly finding him but looking at Magnus with confusion. 

“Sorry, Mr Lightwood but you’re not down as having a plus one.” He glanced at them both apologetically and Alec knew he wasn’t trying to cause an argument. 

“Yeah, that’s my fault, I didn’t let my sister know I was bringing one before the deadline. But she’ll be fine with it. You can ask her if you want. It’s Isabelle, one of the brides.” 

The guy’s eyes widened with realisation - clearly he hadn’t made the connection between their last names and he shook his head. “No that’s alright, you should go on in, you don’t want to keep your sister waiting.” His expression showed that he had been witness to Isabelle’s impatient side at least once tonight. 

They gave the bouncer their thanks and entered the doors to a long hallway where they were greeted by a hotel worker who took their coats and led them through to the door at the end. Magnus seemed slightly shocked about something, his eyes darting around as if he was thinking really hard. 

“The bathrooms are through those doors back there and the coatroom is on the left.” 

Alec nodded at the lady and they entered through the double doors.

Alec heard Magnus’ hum of approval and he had to admit he felt similarly. The room was beautiful. 

It was a wide open space with small tables dotted around though most people seemed to be standing, waiting at the bar or dancing.

The lighting was a muted gold and there were small ‘Tangled’ style lamps strung on the walls and on the tables, flooding the room with warmth and completely contrasting the icy temperature outside.

But what really caught Alec’s eye was the massive spread of photos across one of the main walls, showing Clary and Isabelle’s relationship journey and also several of their childhood photos. Already Alec could see himself in a few of them that he definitely had not agreed to being put on display. 

Before he could lead Magnus away from that area and hope to avoid it all night, he was attacked by his sister in a blur of dark hair. 

“Finally!” Isabelle exclaimed before she hugged him and he felt all the oxygen in his body leave as she tightened her hold in what was probably supposed to be a loving way. 

“Iz… Need to breathe properly.” Alec gently nudged her back from him and realised then that he needed to introduce Magnus to his sister. 

“Magnus. This is Isabelle, she’s my little sister. Isabelle, this is Magnus, it’s a long story but we met tonight, that’s why I didn’t let you know I was bringing a plus one.” 

Isabelle’s eyes narrowed immediately in question at Alec and he shrugged in a ‘I’ll tell you later’ kind of way.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Magnus. Alec never does anything spontaneous so you must be special.” 

“Izzy!” Alec hissed, slightly offended and also not wanting to look lame in front of Magnus, although it was probably two hours too late for that. 

“I’m joking.’ She winked at Magnus, “Kinda. Anyway I’m sure Alec will introduce you to everyone but you definitely want to stay away from Mom because if she realises Alec’s brought someone with him, she’ll shadow you for the rest of the night.” 

“Good point, Iz.” Alec nodded, scanning the room subtly for a sign of his mother. 

“So, Isabelle, tell me about your fiancée. Alec mentioned that she was his best friend in high school, that must be an interesting story.” Magnus asked politely. 

Isabelle had been studying Magnus while he was speaking and she seemed to have a hint of confusion in her eyes, or was it recognition? 

That can’t be right, it wasn’t likely that Magnus and Isabelle had met or they would both have realised immediately. 

Whatever it was that was bothering Izzy disappeared from her expression and she shot Alec a mischievous smile before saying, “Actually Magnus why don’t we go to the bar and I can tell you all about Alec as a teenager? And maybe talk about my fiance a little.” She shrugged nonchalantly and started walking towards the bar confidently. 

Alec’s vocal protestations fell on deaf ears as Magnus winked at him and followed Izzy towards the bar with a smile.

Alec could have wallowed in the knowledge that Izzy was probably already in the midst of telling Magnus some of his many embarrassing childhood stories but he had no time to because he realised his mother was walking over to him with a very giggly Clary Fray in tow.

“Alexander, how nice of you to join us…” Maryse greeted him in her usual sarcastic fashion, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek but immediately wrinkling her nose, “Your face is freezing!” 

Alec barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and when he caught Maryse’s raised eyebrow, he realised he hadn’t suppressed the urge at all. “Yes, mother, that’s because it’s -5 degrees outside. And snowing. I didn’t make that up.” He almost grinned at the expression on Maryse’s face - as if she really hadn’t believed him. 

“Well anyway, that’s besides the point. The point is Clarissa is very drunk.” 

Alec had to admit he had already gathered that from the way Clary had been entranced by the lanterns the whole time she had been standing next to them and also because she was in a near constant state of laughter - quiet, slightly maniacal laughter. It was a little terrifying. 

“Yes, I can see that.” Alec raised an eyebrow in question, hoping Maryse would just get to the point already. 

Maryse sniffed, “I was trying to talk to her about wedding plans with Lucian but I can’t get anything out of her in this state. Can you try to sober her up?” 

Alec couldn’t help but stare at her in confusion, “Can’t you do that? I’m waiting for Izzy and Magn-” Too late, Alec realised his mistake when his mother’s eyes widened and she peered over at the bar intently. 

“Who did you say is with Izzy? Alec, did you bring someone?” Maryse leaned closer towards him, her interest clearly piqued. 

Alec resolved himself to just telling her and getting it out the way but it wasn’t going to make her reaction any less embarrassing.

“Yes, I brought someone. We met on the train tonight, it got delayed so we ended up talking and I spontaneously asked him to come with me because… well I wanted to.” 

Maryse looked taken aback for a second before her face relaxed into a small but still visible smile. Coming from her this was like a round of applause. 

“Well, I’ll have to meet this man who you were so captivated by that you asked him here last minute. And without informing anyone, I might add.” Maryse had to get that one remark in but surprisingly Alec couldn’t find it within himself to care because he was more focussed on how accurate she was when she said he had been captivated by Magnus. 

That’s exactly what Magnus was. _Captivating_. Burning so bright he made you look directly at him and never want to look away. But he also so easily dimmed his own light to brighten others; like when he comforted Alec only a few hours ago. And within all that he managed to come across as completely genuine and humble even after Alec saw the incredible penthouse apartment he owned. Magnus was truly a unique man. 

And after only two hours of knowing him, Alec knew he wanted to know more. He wanted to spend the time getting to know Magnus. And if Magnus wanted that too, then maybe tonight was going to be the beginning of something…

Alec jolted out of his thoughts as his mother waved her hand in front of him, looking concerned (she probably thought he was hallucinating from the fumes that he was being exposed to at work, at least that’s been her argument before). 

“Do you really need to meet him tonight?” The last thing Alec wanted was to scare Magnus off by introducing him to his intimidating mother. 

A brief flash of what looked like hurt passed Maryse’s face before she quickly masked it with a tight, forced smile. “No, that’s alright. I understand you probably want to spend time with him instead of introducing him to everyone. I just… want you to know I support you. Regardless of our relationship in the past, I’m ready to stop blaming you and your career for issues that I really have with myself.” 

Alec had no idea why Maryse seemed so remorseful all of a sudden and he couldn’t stop his face from showing his surprise. “Mom, why are you saying this now?” 

Maryse glanced at Clary - who was still looking vacant, though Alec had a sneaking suspicion that she was not as drunk as she was acting - before sighing, “Seeing your sister so happy and carefree recently made me realise that you are that way about your job. And I realised how unsupportive I’ve been of you. I hope it’s not too late for me to start.” 

Alec felt a weight he didn’t realise he’d been carrying lift as his mother uttered those words. His throat closed up unexpectedly so he coughed and placed a hand on Maryse’s arm.

“It’s never too late to try. Thanks mom.” He cleared his throat again and looked around the room more as an excuse to furiously blink his eyes before they burned with unshed tears.

“Well, I’m going to find Luke again, please make sure Clary doesn’t drink any more, the last thing we need is for her to have alcohol poisoning by the morning.” Maryse snapped out of the briefly sentimental mood she seemed to be in and with a short nod at Alec, she disappeared back into the throngs of people. 

“Okay, Fray. Cut the act, I can tell you’re not actually drunk.” Alec narrowed his eyes at Clary until she dropped the glazed look in her eyes and shook her head. 

“What gave me away?” She demanded, actually looking offended that Alec had seen through her act.

“I saw your eyes widen when my mom said she supported me. If you were drunk you’d have completely missed that.” 

“Damn, you’re right. If it hadn’t been Maryse that had said it, I wouldn’t have been so shocked. How do you feel? About her, I mean…” 

Alec scrubbed the back of his neck subconsciously, not sure how to word his mixed feelings about Maryse right now.

“I feel… relieved, I guess. I didn’t realise how much I wanted her to just... say she supported my choices until now. But there’s still a small part of me that wants to throw it in her face because it took her so long to do something so simple for me and she’s left me with lifelong mental health issues because of how deep her words cut….. And because of other things she did.” 

Alec noticed Clary’s questioning look and shook his head, hoping she wouldn’t press him to expand on that slip of the tongue.

“But,’ He continued hurriedly, “I think I’m ready to move on and have a better relationship with her. At least, I’m going to try.”

Clary smiled and patted his arm once, “That’s all you can do, Alec.”

Alec wanted to change the subject quickly because this evening was getting far too emotional for his taste, “So why _were_ you pretending to be so drunk?” 

Clary laughed, “Maryse cornered me and started sharing ideas of how she thinks me and Iz should have a traditional church wedding even though no one in our families - including her - are religious… I had to find a way to avoid talking about it.” 

Alec chuckled, imagining how differently Izzy would have dealt with their mother’s suggestion. 

“You know you and Izzy are going to have to break the news that you want a small, intimate ceremony to her soon, right?” 

Clary winced, “Yes but we’re trying to figure out a way to get her in the best mood possible before doing that. I even asked Luke to propose to her…” 

Alec burst out laughing at that, “Clary! They’ve only been dating for seven months!” 

Clary shrugged, “I swear he actually considered it for a minute.” 

They looked at each before laughing again, the conversation lulling to an easy silence, with the chatter of the other guests and the light music in the background creating a peaceful feeling. 

As Alec was about to break the silence and start telling Clary about Magnus and his crazy evening, Isabelle sprung out of nowhere and the peaceful atmosphere was shattered. 

“Where’s Magnus?” Alec asked, sure that Izzy wouldn’t have left him on his own. 

“He had to go take a phone call.” Izzy replied, sounding normal enough but with a slight edge to her words.

They chatted for a while, amongst themselves, Alec having to stop himself from craning his neck around to see if Magnus was back. A few minutes later he caught sight of the man striding towards them. 

Magnus was holding two flutes of something orange - that Alec guessed had more alcohol in it than anything else but he looked a little shifty, as if he’d been caught off guard by something.

“Wanna go and sit down somewhere?” Magnus asked lowly, eyes trained on Alec and Alec only. 

Alec was vaguely aware of Izzy and Clary watching them but all of that faded as he looked at Magnus, at his perfectly imperfect smudged eyeliner and the strands of hair falling out of it’s careful style onto his face. 

“Lead the way.” He breathed, allowing Magnus to take his hand and pull him away from Clary and Izzy.

They ended up finding a secluded table in the far corner of the room, where no-one seemed to have ventured all night by the looks of the bare table and untouched chairs. 

Magnus pulled out a chair for both of them and Alec took a sip of his drink once they had sat down, wincing at the strong taste of vodka that dominated the cocktail. 

Magnus chuckled at the look on his face, “Not much of a drinker, I’m guessing?” 

“I can be, I just have to be drunk before I can actually enjoy alcohol.” Alec pulled a face at the aftertaste of the drink and set it on the table resolutely.

Magnus shook his head with a small smile still on his lips, “You and Isabelle are very close.” He stated suddenly. 

“Yeah, there’s only a year between us and we’ve always told each other everything, as embarrassing as that sounds. But we are really close and I don’t know what I’d do without her.” Alec said truthfully, wondering what Izzy and Magnus had talked about all that time at the bar that had potentially brought this conversation on.

“That’s sweet, Alexander. Siblings should be treasured.”

Suddenly, Alec’s hands felt clammy and his throat closed up as he tried desperately to stop himself from reacting to that one part of Magnus’ sentence, that made all the memories come back with a start. 

“So did you and Izzy talk about much?” He forced out, swallowing his panic and hoping it wasn’t written all over his face.

Magnus looked a little surprised at the abrupt change of topic but nodded smoothly. 

“She mainly talked about how close you two were and how lucky she feels that her fiance and brother are best friends. She did tell me a couple of funny stories though… ” Magnus winked at Alec while he floundered, not sure what Izzy could have told him. He knocked back his drink spontaneously.

“I take back everything nice I just said about my sister.” 

“She was right, you _are_ dramatic.”

Alec snorted, unable to stop the sound from escaping as he looked at Magnus leaning comfortably against the back of the chair with a glint in his eye.

“Izzy’s a hypocrite, she’s more dramatic than I’ll ever be.” He countered, enjoying the banter between them right now.

Magnus merely smiled, looking a little distant suddenly.  
“She thinks you feel lost right now.” 

And Alec wasn’t expecting that. At all. It must show on his face because Magnus hastens to continue.

“She didn’t tell me because she wanted to embarrass you. She told me because she thinks tonight is the first time you’ve looked… alive. In a while, at least.” Magnus seemed hesitant about revealing this but also eager to at the same time and Alec felt a couple more prickles of hope against his heart.

He sighed, “She’s right. For a few months, I’ve just been following the same path; going to work, talking to the same people, seeing my friends get engaged, married or have kids and I’ve felt lost. I’ve never felt like I needed to be in a relationship but more and more recently I’ve craved having that one person, who would mean more to me than anyone else and who I could travel with, share memories with. And just love and be loved back.” Alec looked down quickly, not wanting to see Magnus watching him pitifully. 

But he started when Magnus’ hand lifted his chin gently, holding it so he could look directly into Alec’s eyes. He was much closer than he was before, their knees were touching and their faces were inches apart once again. 

“Alec. I know how you feel. The reason why Isabelle told me that is because I told her that you’ve… I don’t know… unlocked something in me. Something that I haven’t felt in a really long time. For so long I’ve closed myself off to feeling anything but when I saw you looking at me before we got on the train...’ Alec blushed, realising Magnus _had_ caught him checking out, “I felt something.”

Despite the slight embarrassment of finding out he was not subtle after all, the relief that poured over Alec was undeniable as everything he had been wary of telling Magnus was clearly reciprocated back. That it felt like they had an instant connection. That it was so easy to talk to him, it was like they already knew one another. That it was too soon to develop a crush on someone after speaking to them for a couple of hours. All of those thoughts had been swirling around his head, threatening to scare him into backing away from Magnus and giving into the doubt that it was all too good to be true. 

But he wouldn't’ let the doubt win. Not this time. He couldn’t bet money on this but it felt like Magnus would stick around.

“I felt it too Magnus. And I’m glad you sat next to me on that train and… I’m almost glad the weather was so bad. Because who knows if we would have met without all of those things happening.” Alec smiled shyly at Magnus, self conscious but honest. 

“Maybe it was fate, Alexander.” Magnus said sounding more serious all of a sudden.

Alec grinned, picked up his empty glass and nodded towards the bar. 

“I’ll drink to that. Do you want to get a refill?”

Magnus merely picked up his glass with a signature (Alec was realising) smirk and gestured for Alec to lead the way. It was time to stop over analyzing everything and get some proper drinks.

* * *

And drink they did. 

It started off relatively light; Alec ordered a beer and got Magnus a vodka martini at his request. They chatted about Alec’s friendship with Clary, Magnus’ childhood adventures with Raphael and everything in between. But then Magnus spontaneously bought a round of shots. That’s when it got a little hazy. 

Watching Magnus tip a shot of tequila down his throat was unbelievably hot. His neck was on full display and his eyes were closed while he smoothly took the strong liquid down in one gulp. Even worse was the fact that there was a small drop of it above his lip when he set the glass down and his tongue darted out to lick it away. Alec felt heat curl in his stomach as he followed Magnus’ tongue with his eyes. 

But he knocked back two tequila shots despite how much he detested tequila and the burning taste that lingered in his throat after he set the shot glasses down. And immediately he felt the impact of the alcohol as his gaze narrowed to Magnus and Magnus only. Or maybe the alcohol had nothing to do with that.

All he could see, all he could think was Magnus. The thrill of seeing him standing behind Alec earlier for the train and instantly feeling attracted to him, Magnus laughing at Alec’s rambling, his humble attitude, his soft eyes and how expressive they were. Just everything. 

Alec was consumed by Magnus just looking at him and the alcohol only fueled that as they ordered vodka shots and knocked them back quickly. 

Alec was still mostly conscious of his surroundings but he was a lot closer to Magnus now than when they had first sat down at the bar, their shoulders pressed against each other, their legs brushing together and their bodies positioned towards each other. It was intimate. And nice. 

Magnus was talking (in a slightly tipsy manner) about when he visited Brazil and almost got arrested and Alec was _really_ trying to listen but he kept being distracted by Magnus’ face. 

Especially his lips. 

Suddenly Magnus laughed and leaned forward slightly. 

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not listening anymore?” He asked, in a light, teasing voice; the smirk on his face showing he wasn’t annoyed but intrigued. 

“Maybe I could have been listening a little more but it’s your fault! Your face is distracting and pretty.” Alec realised that he was drunker than he’d thought because he only had no filter like that when he was drunk. 

Magnus’ eyebrows raised in surprise before his eyes narrowed flirtingly. “You think I’m pretty huh?” 

“Obviously.” 

“Why obviously?” 

“The whole reason I stared at you earlier on the train was because you were so…well, you know. Beautiful.” 

Magnus smiled almost shyly at that admission and he looked down, his eyelashes brushing his cheekbones and casting a shadow across his face. 

“Well the feelings mutual, darling.” He confessed, looking back to Alec with determination on his face. 

“Step outside with me for a moment.” Magnus asked suddenly after they had been staring at each other for a while - partly because of their slightly drunk state but also because they didn’t want to look away. At least Alec knew he didn’t. 

“Isn’t it still snowing?” Alec whined slightly, not wanting to leave the warm, calm atmosphere they had created between them. He’d almost forgotten that they were at a party. 

“I don’t mean go outside of the hotel, Alexander.’ Magnus laughed at Alec’s dramatics, “I meant let’s go somewhere private for a moment. If you don’t mind?” 

Alec’s mind span at the implications of going somewhere private with Magnus but his stomach also swooped pleasantly so he nodded - hopefully not too eagerly. 

Magnus held a hand out for Alec to take and they fumbled their way through the throngs of dancing bodies, where Alec saw Isabelle and Clary doing god knows what on the dance floor. He quickly averted his eyes and focused back on the soft pressure of Magnus’ hand on his and the nice way Magnus led him gently through the room. Maybe he was progressively getting more drunk because the room looked hazy as they walked through it. But then again, everyone looked hazy compared to Magnus right now.

Magnus led them out of the double doors back to the small, carpeted hallway that led to the bathrooms and cloakroom. Alec’s head cleared easier out here away from the rising noise and constant access to alcohol. 

As he was about to awkwardly apologise for getting a little drunk, Magnus stopped against the wall right next to a door marked ‘Cloakroom’. No guesses as to what was behind that door. 

As he refocused on Magnus, he saw that Magnus was already watching him with soft, wide eyes that made Alec’s insides feel warm. 

“Alexander,’ Magnus began, his tone serious in a way that made Alec panic. Magnus was about to say this had all been a big mistake and that they were just strangers and he was going to leave and- 

“I want to tell you something before this goes too far.” Magnus interrupted his spiral of thoughts but looked away from Alec then, seemingly nervous. 

“Okay…” 

“So I know this might come as a bit of a shock but-” 

Just as those words left Magnus’ lips, none other than Simon Lewis came barrelling out of the party, grinning wildly and that grin only got bigger when he spotted Alec. 

“Alec, man!” Simon held a fist out presumably for Alec to bump which he did - very reluctantly. 

Internally Alec sighed because while he was glad to see one of his closest friends, he also knew that now Simon was here, Magnus probably wouldn’t be able to tell him anything for a good thirty minutes. Simon was a talker. 

“Who’s your… _friend_?” Simon asked, emphasising friend in the least subtle way possible.

Alec glanced at Magnus briefly to gauge what he might want him to say but his face was unreadable. 

“This is Magnus… my plus one.” He managed, not quite able to look Simon in the eye. Simon could see right through Alec and always had been able to. 

Simon smirked but nodded, giving Magnus’ outfit a quick once-over. 

“Nice style. Matches your name. You know, you kinda look like a celebrity.” Simon commented with a sincere smile. And while the sentence was slightly weird, it struck Alec that it was completely accurate. Magnus was the epitome of stylish, even to the extent that his name had its own unique style.

Magnus accepted the compliment with a dazzling smile and that’s all it takes for Simon to immediately start asking him every question under the sun. 

“Right that’s enough, did you come out here to go to the bathroom or just to stand here and annoy us?” Alec eventually asked, when Simon asked if Magnus had ever thought he had a rare medical condition.

Simon smacked a hand across his forehead suddenly, “God, I forgot. Maryse needed me to see if anyone was in the bathroom and out here because she’s about to make a speech.” 

“Well, it was nice seeing you Simon, we’ll be going now.” Alec grabbed Magnus’ hand and actually started walking towards the exit. 

Magnus was laughing but eventually stopped and turned back to where Simon was shaking his head amusedly. 

“Alexander, it wouldn’t be the end of the world to go inside for your mother’s speech. Plus if the snow is still as bad as it was earlier, there is no way I’m leaving any time soon.”

Alec couldn’t fault the logic in that and he nodded reluctantly, catching the way Simon glanced at him in surprise before he composed his face into his regular grin. 

He knew why Simon was surprised. Alec was notorious within his friendship group for being extremely stubborn. To the point where if he said no to something originally and then changed his mind; his friends wouldn’t shut up about it for months. But for Magnus, he’d just agreed immediately. Even if Simon hadn’t looked at him pointedly, he would have realised that he was rapidly changing a habit of being stubborn for a man he met hours ago. Anyone who knew Alec knew how unchanging he normally was. 

He rolled his eyes as a response to Simon’s knowing look and kept a hold of Magnus’ hand as they made their way back into the spacious room.

Clearly Maryse had been eagerly watching the doors because as soon as they closed behind Simon, she signalled for the music to be muted and tapped at a champagne glass until the tinkle caught everyone’s attention. 

Maryse stepped onto the small stage area in the middle of the room and cleared her throat briefly. “It will probably come as a surprise but I actually wasn’t planning on making a speech tonight because I didn’t feel the need. But before I explain why I am now making this speech, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has made it tonight to celebrate Isabelle and Clarissa’s engagement. I’m sure the wedding will be even bigger and better…” 

Alec scanned the room for Clary at that unfortunate line and spotted her not far away, shaking her head exasperatedly while Izzy looked amused. He caught their eyes and mouthed, “Can I tell her?” hoping that in the dim but consistent fairy lights that they picked it up. It seemed like they did with Clary’s glare and Izzy’s eye roll. 

He tuned back into Maryse’s speech with a chuckle. 

“As I’m sure you will all know, there has been a severe weather warning for tonight and the upcoming days and the snow is not due to stop for several hours. After speaking with the hotel staff, they have kindly given us all rooms for tonight at a discounted rate.” 

A low buzz of chatter emanated around the room at this announcement as many guests turned to their friends and families. But Maryse clearly wasn’t finished.

“As I know it is last minute to be paying for a hotel room, you’ll be happy to know I have actually paid for all the guests and plus ones to stay here to ensure no one is out in the blizzard and in potential danger. If anyone still wishes to go home please let me know but I strongly advise against it. Please see me when you decide to retire for the night as I have the room numbers and cards.” Maryse allowed the clapping, that some decided to give her at that point, with a small smile. 

Alec glanced at Magnus, only to see him staring at Alec, another smirk on his face. Alec opened his mouth question the staring but Magnus raised a finger to his lips, before looking back to Maryse. 

“Now if you’ll all raise your glasses for a toast to Isabelle and Clarissa; to their upcoming wedding and their bright future together.” 

The room filled with the sound of glasses hastily being raised and exclamations of ‘Isabelle and Clarissa’ rang round the room before laughter followed as many chose to say ‘Clary’ instead.

“I’ll take the right side.” Alec was suddenly aware that Magnus was closer than he had been before, his hands resting lightly on Alec’s bicep.

“The…. right side?” 

“Of the bed.” Magnus winked at him, smirk turning into a laugh at Alec’s floored expression. 

“That’s… not… I-” Alec couldn’t think of a response for the life of him. 

He forced himself to get it together before Magnus finally decided he was too lame; although he was starting to think Magnus liked his fumbling and awkwardness. 

“Why do we need sides when I could just be underneath you?” 

Wow, Alec had not meant to say something so forward. Why was it that he either couldn’t respond to flirting or he responded way _too_ much? 

Magnus’ expression reflected how much he had been affected by that; his pupils blown wide and his mouth slightly open in surprise.

“I-’ Magnus cleared his throat and Alec felt a thrill down his spine that he had caused this reaction. 

“I hope you mean that, darling because I’ll hold you to it.” 

Alec couldn’t resist the opportunity Magnus had again provided and he leaned into Magnus, “You can hold me however you want.” 

Magnus sucked in a breath, his body visibly reacting this time as his hands tightened around Alec’s bicep. 

“Right. Upstairs now.” His eyes were smouldering and dark and Alec immediately felt more turned on than he had with anyone else before. 

“We…. don’t have the room number or keycard.” Alec remembered, wishing they had started this little game after they had gone to Maryse. It was going to be a task and a half to compose themselves now when they were so wound up. 

Magnus let out a long suffering sigh, his eyes rolling back into his head, in a way that shouldn’t look sexy but did. 

“I’d offer to go and get it off your mother but I’m not sure that would be the quickest option.” 

It was Alec’s turn to roll his eyes now. 

“You owe me if she starts asking twenty questions.” 

“Oh darling, I’ll make it worth your while.” 

Alec couldn’t think of a way to reply to _that_ so he headed towards his mother who luckily seemed occupied with the other guests wanting their keycards. 

He loitered around while one of his aunts commented to Maryse that she was surprised at how normal the party was considering it was for two lesbians. While he focused on not throttling said aunt to death, Maryse actually interrupted her tirade. 

“Melanie, Isabelle is bisexual not a lesbian as there are more than two sexualities, remember. More to the point, the reason why this is a normal engagement party is because my daughter is - shocker - in a _normal_ relationship with her beautiful fiancée. And finally I really don’t know who told you that you were invited to this party because unfortunately you’re not on the list and therefore don’t have a room to stay in. Feel free to pay for one though, we wouldn’t want for you to be left in the snowstorm. Have a great night.” 

Alec resisted the urge to burst into applause for his mother as Melanie huffed towards the exit. He had never heard her speak like that before. Or maybe he just hadn’t been listening. 

“Mom, that was-” He began before she held up a hand. 

“That's what I should have said every time anyone in our family was homophobic to you or your sister. Or anyone for that matter. I hope you know that I always supported you and loved you when you came out, I just didn’t know how to show you that. And if I ever made you doubt that, I can’t apologise enough.” 

And Alec did something then that he never thought he would willingly do. He hugged her. 

It was brief, he curled his arms around her petite shoulders and breathed in once before stepping back once again. But it’s enough. 

“Thank you.” And just like that, they began to move on. 

Surprisingly, Maryse made little to no comments about why he’s going to the hotel room when it’s just past midnight but he thinks it might be because of their seemingly new founded truce. 

Magnus was leaning against the wall when Alec got back to him, idly scrolling through his phone with his drink in his hand lazily and looking like a million dollars without even trying. In all honesty, Alec felt like the past four hours had been a complete dream. 

“Everything go alright?” Magnus asked when he noticed Alec was back. 

“Yeah, better than alright actually. My mom was kinda… amazing when one of my relatives was being homophobic so we actually had a really nice talk and I think I might be ready to make more of an effort with her... because she seems to be.”

Magnus smiled and his eyes crinkled in the corners adorably. 

“That’s really great, Alexander. I know it might seem weird given that we met today but I’m proud that you’ve been able to take this step.” 

“It’s not weird, Magnus, I’m grateful. I think telling you what she did helped me realise that I was in control of my relationship with her now. I made the decision to respond to the effort she made and I don’t know if I would have done that if I hadn’t been able to tell you everything earlier.” 

Alec exhaled while Magnus’ smile got wider and he placed a hand on Alec’s forearm.

“We don’t have to go upstairs right now, you know. We can stay down here with your friends and family, I don’t mind.”

Alec knew deep down that was the sensible choice and he probably would have agreed but Magnus chose that moment to drain his glass and Alec had the perfect view of his profile as he tipped his head back. His throat and jaw shouldn’t look as… sexy as it did but Alec immediately remembered the conversation they’d been having only a few minutes ago and his body felt too hot all of a sudden.

“No.” Alec heard how low his voice sounded but he was more interested in how Magnus’ eyes dilated and he lowered his glass slowly.

“Okay.” Magnus murmured, eyes roaming over Alec darkly. “Shall we?”

Alec chose to respond by reaching to take Magnus’ glass from him and set it on the table just behind them before whirling round to take Magnus’ hand in his own and lead him to the exit. 

He heard a low wolf whistle behind them and quickly turned to see Izzy and Clary slow dancing but watching them; Clary with a smile that said she was behind the whistle but Izzy with a slight frown on her face. As he was about to shrug it off she mouthed “Be careful.” at him and he would have dismissed it as a protection joke if he didn’t see how serious her face was. 

But Magnus tugged at his hand and all thoughts of Izzy were gone as they stumbled into the wide entrance hall once again. 

Magnus led him eagerly out towards the lobby only to stop when he realised Alec was the one with the room card. 

“Fifth floor.” Alec quickly told him, suddenly feeling a strong wave of desire as Magnus turned to look at him, biting his lip in question. 

Entering the elevator felt like one of those movie scenes and it was only increased by the doors sliding closed and leaving them properly alone finally. 

Alec could feel the tension with every inhale Magnus took and every inch of space between them felt more like a mile. 

“Alexander,” Magnus cut the silence abruptly, making Alec turn towards him in surprise. 

“You… haven’t pressed the button.” Magnus pointed out, an amused smirk curling around his lips which only widened when Alec flushed slightly before he lurched forward to press the button indicating floor five. 

“Sorry, I guess I’m just…” Alec trailed off as Magnus stepped forward teasingly, successfully invading Alec’s space to the point where he could smell the sharp tang of his cologne and see the strokes of his dark, smudged eyeliner on the waterline of his eyes.

“Distracted?” Magnus finished for him, dragging his index finger down Alec’s chest tantalisingly until it rested just above his naval before he brought his whole hand to Alec’s hip.

“Yeah,” Alec breathed out and that was all he could do before Magnus closed the small gap between them and finally kissed him. 

His lips were sure and soft as he kissed Alec unexpectedly gently, bringing his other hand up to curl around his neck. Alec dipped his head a little before deepening the kiss, sliding his tongue over Magnus’ bottom lip and brushing against his own. Magnus responded immediately, pulling him in closer and the kiss gained heat as Alec’s head knocked back against the wall of the elevator. Magnus’ lips left his to graze his jaw and mouth at his neck. 

Before it could go further in a public elevator of all places, there was a ding as they arrived on the fifth floor and the doors slid open.

“C’mon, let’s continue this in private.” Alec suggested, reluctantly pulling away from Magnus’ warmth and taking his hand instead. 

“Of course, I thought we’d never get to the hotel room.” Magnus replied but Alec almost misses his words because Magnus is trailing his hand down Alec’s back and suddenly squeezing his ass suggestively. 

When Alec stopped in front of their room, Magnus clearly wanted to prevent him from having the ability to open the door if the way he curled an arm around Alec’s neck suddenly was any indicator. But he didn’t just stop there, he leaned into Alec, their slight height difference making Magnus’ lips level to the crook of his neck. 

“I’ve been thinking about this all night, Alexander. Hoped that we’d have to stay the night because of the weather.” Magnus’ breath was hot against his skin which had goosebumps erupting instantly and he felt rather than heard the chuckle that Magnus released when he saw them.

“Since we were in my apartment earlier and you kept looking at me with those incredible eyes of yours, I was wondering if it was crazy to want you so bad.” Magnus continued, while Alec’s hand remained frozen in front of him, unable to reach out and open their door easily. 

“No, I-” Alec cleared his throat quickly, embarrassed by how low it had sounded, “I wanted you too, I have all night. I know it’s maybe a little crazy but you seem to bring that out in me… I would never normally invite a near stranger to a family event but I did. But I’m so glad I did, Magnus. I hope you know that.” Alec let out a breath as he finally held their keycard to the lock and it buzzed to open. 

“I have to say, I never thought I would meet someone and feel comfortable with them in less than 24 hours of knowing them. But I feel like I can be myself with you, Alexander and you have _no_ idea how rare that feeling is.” Magnus said, as he followed Alec into their room, the previously heated atmosphere dropping to become sincere. 

“Well, I’m really glad we’re on the same page. I mean… we are right? Or do you want this to be a one time thing? Not that I’d-” Magnus moved closer with a fondly exasperated look in his eyes.

“You really need to stop being so paranoid.’ He teased with a glint in his eye, ‘But just to put your mind at rest, no I don’t want this to be a one time thing. In fact, I would really like to get to know you further and see where this could go between us. We need to talk about this properly because there are some things you need to know but I know I’m attracted to you, Alexander, in all ways.” 

Alec was sure he looked dumb standing there with a stupid smile on his face but he couldn’t seem to wipe it off his face. 

“Good… That’s really-” Magnus cut him off by quite literally kissing him quiet, not that Alec could complain, he probably would have carried on rambling for way too long. 

Alec had only been kissed by Magnus twice now but he knew he would never get over the feeling. Magnus controlled the kiss expertly, deepening it with a flick of his tongue against Alec’s bottom lip which had him going weak at the knees.

The gap between them was reduced to nothing as Magnus pushed Alec back against the door they entered through, Alec’s head almost knocking against it painfully before his hands came up to Magnus’ blazer collar, steadying himself all the while maintaining the fever of the kiss. 

Magnus licked into Alec’s mouth teasingly, his hands sliding under his turtleneck making Alec gasp at the contact on his bare skin. He retaliated by pulling gently at Magnus’ collar, silently urging him to take it off only for Magnus to pull back and swat his hands away before gracefully taking the jacket off. 

“This jacket cost more than this hotel room did so you don’t tug.” Magnus remarked, seeing Alec’s slightly puzzled expression. 

As soon as the jacket was safely out of harm's way, Alec dove back into kissing Magnus, already sure in the knowledge that he was addicted to the taste of Magnus’ lips on his. 

They gravitated naturally towards the perfectly made bed and Alec stepped back to pull his jumper off, his skin feeling much too hot to keep it on for much longer. 

The look Magnus gave him as his eyes drank in Alec’s bare chest made his body heat up even more as Magnus’ eyes darkened considerably and he stepped even closer to Alec.

“You are…’ Magnus started, letting his fingers begin a trail across Alec chest and making him shiver, “Beautiful.” 

Alec can’t help the flush that bloomed on his body at such sincere words leaving Magnus’ mouth. He smiled easily and reached forward to unbutton Magnus’ shirt, his haste growing in his eagerness to see more of Magnus.

At the back of his mind he was wondering if sleeping with Magnus on the same night they met was a good basis to start a potential relationship off and he tried to push the thought away but quickly realised he at least needed to voice his concerns before they went any further.

“Magn- mmm…’ Magnus was sucking bruises into Alec’s neck while his hands still roamed over his bare chest and Alec’s train of thought was hard to regain. “Magnus, wait.” 

At this, Magnus immediately pulled back and stepped away and part of Alec was screaming at himself for putting the slightly hurt expression on his face. But he ploughed forward anyway. 

“Do you think this is too quick? I just… We’ve agreed that we don’t want this to be a one night only thing so… should we still…?” Alec trailed off, feeling awkward.

Magnus looked at him with a softness in his eyes that Alec didn’t quite understand but saw as a good sign. 

“Do you want to, Alexander?” He asked, tone sure but an underlying hint of doubt clear in the way he kept the small distance between them.

“Are you kidding? Of course I- I want to, more than- but I… I just don’t want this to start in the wrong way... I guess I’m remembering that none of my moderately successful relationships started with sex…” 

Magnus looked relieved, shown on his face and in the way he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck. 

“You think too much.” He murmured before his gaze turned serious. “ I know why you’re worried, Alexander and I don’t want to do anything if you’re not completely sure. But I do know that I’m insanely attracted to you. And I don’t think having sex tonight is going to stop us from being able to… hopefully keep seeing each other on a different level. Sex is one thing but everything else takes effort. And I’m willing to put that effort in.” Magnus was looking at Alec with shining eyes, his whole face beaming with sincerity and surprisingly a small hint of sadness. Alec didn’t think too much about that because he could only focus on how beautiful Magnus was.

“Magnus…’ Alec leaned in, the gap between their faces becoming miniscule as their breath mingled. “I’m all for effort.” He whispered, feeling Magnus breathe out quickly before he closed the gap between them with no hesitation. 

There was no stopping them after that. Alec pulled Magnus’ shirt off him gently and let his hands explore the toned skin underneath while Magnus kissed down Alec’s jaw and collarbones, their urgency becoming more apparent as their breath quickened and their skin heated up.

They ended up on the bed, discarding the rest of the clothes and gasping in unison as they lay skin to skin with no barriers. They kissed until they had to break apart for air and then their bodies began to tell them what to do. Lingering touches became more urgent, Magnus’ hands were in Alec’s hair as he moved his mouth down Magnus’ torso to the place where he wanted to be most. Soon Magnus was pulling him up and kissing him long and deep, tasting everything that Alec had and groaning at that thought. Magnus’ fingers were mapping out the deepest parts of Alec and he couldn’t hold back the noises that spilled from his mouth. 

All too soon, Magnus was rolling on a condom that he’d somehow retrieved and they were joined together in the most intimate way. They rocked together, both gasping and murmuring uncontrollably until they reached the peak of pleasure and fell over the edge. It was hot and heady but it felt right. Their movements gradually slowed down as they caught their breath and let the moment settle.

“That was…”

“Yeah… wow.” 

They laughed together as the sexually charged atmosphere dropped to a calming one. 

Magnus hopped out of bed to grab a wet towel and cleaned them both up hurriedly.

“So tomorrow… assuming that we’ll be able to leave the hotel, do you maybe want to… go for dinner?” Alec asked, feeling nervous despite laying on the bed, completely naked.

“You’re asking me out just after we had sex?” Magnus giggled, sounding much younger because of it.

Alec huffed, “Sorry is the timing not right?” He remarked sarcastically, his hands finding Magnus’ ribs and tickling enough to make him squirm. 

“Okay, okay, stop please!” Magnus gasped, trying to roll away from Alec’s hands. “Yes, I would like to go for dinner with you, Alexander. But I’ll need to talk to you seriously tomorrow.” 

Alec paused, his fingers grazing Magnus’ ribs teasingly, ‘Are you just saying yes to get me to stop?’ He mused, his amused eyes showing that he was joking.

Magnus gasped, in fake offense, “I would _never_!’ 

Alec chuckled and lay back properly on the pillows, his body relaxing and a sated smile covering his face. “When you say seriously…?”

“I mean I need to tell you something before we go on our date. It could… change your opinion of me.”

Alec was too drunk and satisfied to understand what Magnus could possibly mean, “I doubt that could happen, Magnus.” 

Magnus sighed, lifting a hand to his head and Alec heard a murmured “I hope you’re right.”

“Tell me more about yourself.” Magnus continued, having rolled over too, so he’s on his side facing Alec. 

“What do you want to know?” Alec questioned softly, at this point willing to tell Magnus anything. Except maybe one chapter of his life…

“Where was your favourite place while you travelled?” Magnus replied, after a few seconds of silence.

Alec groaned, “That’s hard, Magnus. I loved pretty much all of the places I travelled to but Rome, Vienna and Budapest were all places I’d go back to in a heartbeat.”

Magnus smiled, “I love Vienna. I spent a couple of months there a few years ago.” 

That was all it took. A shared love of a beautiful city and they couldn’t stop talking after that. They spoke about the other places they’d both visited, the places they wanted to go and everything in between. The conversation was so easy it hurt Alec’s heart a little to realise he had actually found someone incredibly special in just one night. 

Eventually, they stopped talking as it approached 3am and Magnus rested his head against Alec’s shoulder contentedly. 

“This is crazy, isn’t it.” Alec whispered, thinking about how he was lying in bed cuddling a man he had known for less than a day.

“That’s what makes it so fun, Alexander.” Magnus yawned briefly after he said this and curled up closer to Alec. “It is... crazy but I’m glad I met... you. You’re not how I thought you were. Feels… like… fate….” Magnus said the last sentence so softly it was almost inaudible but Alec caught it and his heart skipped.

He opened his mouth to reply, to ask Magnus how he’d thought of him before when they’d only met tonight but he realised Magnus was breathing out evenly onto his neck, his eyes closed and his peaceful expression one that only sleep could create. 

“Goodnight Magnus.” He breathed out before closing his own eyes and letting sleep consume him.

* * *

Alec was woken up by the welcomed but undeniable weight of Magnus’ body half on top of his own. He had a slight headache pressing between his eyes (most likely thanks to his excessive drinking last night) and his body felt pleasantly sore. After basking in the comfortable morning atmosphere he realised he should probably get up, shower and check his phone seeing as he had barely touched it last night. 

He inched carefully out of the bed, trying not to disturb Magnus - who looked stunning in his sleep, no surprise - pulled his discarded underwear off the floor and wandered over to where his coat lay strewn on the floor. 

Finally digging his phone out, he turns it on quickly, resolving to check it briefly before jumping in the shower. But nothing could have prepared him for all the notifications that filled up the screen. 

_Jace (work): Woah, so you like them rich huh._

_Aline: OMG Alec!!! How did that happen????_

_Maia: Oh Alec… Please let me know how you’re doing. I didn’t get to see you last night._

_Izzy: I’m sorry, hermano.. I told him to tell you._

_Clary: Alec, I didn’t realise :( I hope you’re okay._

_Underhill: I didn’t see you last night but now I know why…. We deffo need to catch up man._

_Three missed calls from Isabelle._

Alec shook his head blearily, not having the faintest idea what could be going on. He unlocked his phone and went to Whatsapp, quickly scanning the multiple messages he had, some from people he worked with, some from his closest friends and a couple from people he hadn’t spoken to in months. Even after reading through them he was none the wiser to what they were all messaging him about, though it seemed related to him and Magnus somehow.

He resorted to doing something he rarely did, unless Izzy encouraged him to. Googling himself. 

The minute he hit enter on the search engine, his jaw dropped. News articles with his name everywhere, pictures of him from last night, with Magnus and with some extremely confusing headlines. 

_Bane finds boy toy on his birthday!_

_Billionaire Bane finds love with Lightwood socialite?_

_Everything you need to know about Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane’s mystery man._

Alec thought his eyes must be tricking himself. There’s no way he was possibly reading the words ‘Magnus’ and ‘Bane’ in the same sentence… The world wouldn’t be that cruel. 

Just as he was about to click on one of the articles and shed more light on the situation, he heard a groan and the sound of muscles cracking behind him. Magnus was awake. 

In hindsight, Alec could have handled things better. But it was 10am, he was slightly hungover and he had just discovered that the man he had not only slept with but also had rapidly developed a crush on could be someone he had never anticipated. 

“What’s your last name?” Alec asked, voice still calm but an edge to it that made Magnus look up confusedly from his pillow.

“Huh…” Magnus mumbled, still half asleep clearly and looking annoyingly cute in his sleep rumpled state. 

“Magnus. What is your last name? Please.” Alec enunciated every syllable, his desire to have the question answered obvious as he stepped forward. 

Magnus looked suddenly more awake. His eyes darted across the room, landing on Alec’s phone and it was almost as if he closed in on himself. 

“I… I’m not sure why…. Do we…” He trailed off, looking so unlike the put together version of himself that Alec was taken aback. It was starting to sink in that this was actually happening. The articles were real, Magnus was who it said he was but Alec needed to hear it. Directly from his mouth. 

“Your last name.” Alec stated, not allowing himself to back down. 

“I wanted to tell you… Alec, please. It’s not something I expected to happen. Please understand that.” Magnus tried, looking desperate and younger than normal, as he wrung his hands together anxiously. 

“TELL ME!” Alec couldn’t hold back, his words coming out as a shout as all the memories came flooding back. 

Memories he’d tried to forget, hospital walls, the smell of death and his own brother dying. 

Magnus took a deep breath, resigning himself to answering. 

“Bane. My name is Magnus Bane.” 

Alec couldn’t breathe. The room span as he was transported back to that awful hospital room five years ago. 

* * *

_Alec couldn’t look at him. He physically couldn’t look at his own brother. Lying there on the hospital bed. Sickness evident in the way his body lay, frail and weak._

_Izzy was sleeping beside him, body sprawled out uncomfortably on the stiff hospital chairs. Maryse was sitting as close to Max as possible, her hand clasping his tightly. Robert stood behind her, one hand hovering above her shoulder as if he knew she didn’t want the contact. Not when she was so close to breaking._

_Izzy stirred, eyes fluttering open._

_“You can go back to sleep, Iz.” Alec muttered, looking fixedly at the wall opposite them._

_“No point, s’too uncomfortable anyway.”_

_Silence settled then. Alec couldn’t help thinking how different their situation would be. If they hadn’t been rejected by Bane Inc, Max could at least be spending his last days in comfort, surrounded by luxury like he deserved. But no. The CEO of the company, Mr Bane had rejected their request personally even after they’d been on the waiting list for two years in anticipation._

_Alec’s fists clenched as he remembered the phone call he’d had with the man himself._

* * *

_“I’d just like to speak to Mr Bane. Now.” Alec spoke, uncaring of how rude he sounded, as Bane’s assistant seemingly flittered around on the phone. He’d just gone through the exhausting details of Max’s illness and how long he’d been on the waiting list for Bane’s Angels and frankly his head was starting to hurt._

_“That’s not strictly allowed in-”_

_“I don’t care what’s allowed. I’d like to speak to him, I’ll wait as long as it takes. I want to know why my sick brother was rejected.” Alec cut her off abruptly._

_There was some background noise for a few moments before the assistants voice came back through the phone._

_“I’m transferring your call now, Mr Lightwood.” She responded meekly, pressing a button._

_There was a pause before he heard a click and an intake of breath._

_“Bane speaking. What is the problem?” A velvet, eloquent voice came out, surprising Alec with how young the man sounded._

_“Uh…” Alec shook himself, this was his chance to get to the bottom of things, “The problem is that my little brother was rejected by you and your company for Bane’s Angels, despite being on the waiting list for two years and… qualifying. As his illness became t-terminal.”_

_He heard a slight intake of breath on the other end of the phone._

_“What’s the name?” Mr Bane asked, almost sounding hesitant._

_“Max. Max Lightwood.” This time he knows Bane sucked in a breath, seemingly shocked._

_“Lightwood. I see.” Bane uttered, leaving Alec confused._

_“Well, can you explain?”_

_“I think you should ask your parents. Or more specifically, your father about why seeing the name Lightwood would make me reject the application.”_

_Alec was baffled. What did that even mean?_

_“I don’t… What does this have to do with my parents?”_

__

_Mr Bane sighed, “Let me ask you this. How did they react when you mentioned my company?”_

_Alec wouldn’t be able to forget that memory. It had been so bizarre, the way his father paled and his mother shouted at him for signing Max up. He had presumed it was because they didn’t want to admit that Max wasn’t getting better and that signing him up was a reminder of that but now… Did it mean something different?_

_“I… If it’s something to do with my parents then why take it out on my brother? He’s an innocent child and he’s dying…” Alec’s voice cracked at the end and he couldn’t even bring himself to be embarrassed._

_“When you find out the reason, you’ll understand mine.” Bane answered, even more cryptically. “I’m a very busy man so I’m afraid I must go. I… wish it could be different, Mr Lightwood.”_

_And with that, he hung up. Alec was left even more confused than before._

* * *

_And now as he sat next to the hospital bed, he wanted more than ever to understand why a man well known for his charitable nature such as Bane was would reject someone. He hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask either of his parents about it yet but he was planning to._

_Just then, Max stirred._

_All four of them jolted and sat up more or leaned towards him, hoping he would be feeling a little rested._

_“How do you feel, baby?” Maryse murmured, her hand coming up to rest on Max’s forehead gently, sweeping some of his hair back._

_“Alright.” Max croaked, sounding parched._

_Alec grabbed the glass of water next to his bed and leaned into Max, helping him take a gulp._

_“Thanks, Alec.” Max managed a smile towards him and that more than anything was what broke Alec’s heart. His brother could barely make the effort to smile. The world was that cruel._

_He got up suddenly, unable to bear the tense mood and dark thoughts that it provoked._

_“I’m… just going to get some air.” He stuttered out practically throwing himself at the door._

_He paced around the hospital for hours, trying desperately to rid his head of the looming thoughts that Max was fading. Instead he let his mind wander to Bane and his parents or father more specifically._

_Clearly they’d had some sort of run in with each other but what could have happened that would allow Magnus to hold a grudge this long?_

_He shook his head frustratedly and reluctantly headed back for Max’s room._

_Two days later, Max Lightwood died in his sleep and Alec’s heart broke._

* * *

This was Bane. Mr Bane. Magnus. Now standing in front of him, guilt but also anger etched on his face, looking nothing like the evil, rich CEO that Alec had painted in his head all those years ago when he’d been trying to find someone to blame for his brothers lack of comfort in his last days. 

When the Lightwoods law company almost collapsed all of a sudden it was like the world had turned against them. Max was dying, Alec had no desire to continue in the company anyway and they now had to find a way to afford all the necessities they’d never thought twice about while paying for Max’s medical bills. Alec thought he’d finally done something right when he remembered he’d signed Max up for Bane’s Angels. Only to have that last remaining swell of hope crushed.

It was a blessing and a curse that both his parents threw themselves into repairing their company as a way to deal with their grief after Max died. They got the law firm back up to its prestigious reputation but it didn’t do anything to repair the hole in all of their lives with Max gone. 

After all these years Alec had thought he would know exactly what he wanted to say to the man in front of him but he had never thought it would happen, seeing as he steadfastly ignored and avoided anything that even mentioned Bane or his company after Max died. But now, standing before the man himself he couldn’t deny that it was every way different to what he’d imagined. He’d not only slept with this man, he’d gotten to know him - albeit only for one night but it had felt like enough. Clearly it wasn’t as he hadn’t once thought that Magnus could be the owner of Bane Inc. but why would that have ever crossed his mind?

“Alexander…” Magnus started, getting up off the bed and quickly pulling some underwear on.

“Don’t call me that.” Alec snapped, feeling a twinge of guilt at how Magnus’ face fell and then feeling betrayed by his own emotions. 

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Alec asked, hating how his voice broke off towards the end.

“I didn’t _know_! I swear, Alexan- Alec. I only realised you were a Lightwood when we got here and you said your full name and then I thought it might have been a horrific coincidence. But then I spoke to your sister and she… knew who I was. She told me I had the night to tell you or she would.”

“But why didn’t you just tell me as soon as you found out? Magnus… I don’t- I just don’t understand.” 

“I know. It doesn’t make sense to me either but at first when you were looking at me on the train platform I thought you recognised me. When it became obvious that you didn’t, I felt a thrill. You were talking to me with no ulterior motives, you didn’t know about my wealth or my past. It made me feel something I haven’t felt for a long time. And then of course I found out who you were or rather who your parents are. I didn’t know what to do and I almost left without even telling you but then I remembered what you told me on the train. And I realised that maybe we aren’t so different. One thing I stand by is that… children are not their parents. So I thought maybe if I just gave myself one night of pretending and then I could explain everything to you, about how I knew your father and... how everything in my life feels like it has led up to this moment.” 

Alec once again felt like he couldn’t breathe. Everything was happening all at once and it felt like his head was about to burst. 

“I can’t… I don’t know what you want me to say. It… He was my brother and you… I just-” Alec broke off, his eyes stinging. 

“Please. If you just let me explain, I will.” Magnus tried, taking a step forward. 

And that was when the dam broke.

“NO. Stay away from me!’ He burst out, “I don’t want anything to do with you. You lied to me, I told you something I’ve never told anyone about my mother. And then you slept with me knowing that you were lying to me _and_ you’re the reason I still feel guilty over my little brothers death! I’m leaving. You can do whatever the hell you want!” Alec spat, before his face crumpled and tear slid down his cheek against his will. 

Before he broke down further, he turned away from Magnus and pulled his clothes on before grabbing his other belongings and leaving, the door slamming behind him. The last thing he saw was Magnus standing in exactly the same place as before, looking like he’d seen a ghost.

His head span once again as he lurched down the hotel corridor, trying desperately to stop his mind from bringing up horrific images of Max when he was at his illest, his small body even more fragile and pale. 

But by not thinking about Max he thought about Magnus. Who, two hours ago, he’d been peacefully sleeping next to, six hours ago he’d had hope blossoming in his chest just from looking at him. That hope had evaporated to leave a hollow cavity as soon as he saw the first headline. That hope had made him forget that twenty four hours ago he didn’t even know Magnus.

God, how could he have been so stupid? No wonder he couldn’t make it as a lawyer. He let himself get close to a stranger to the point of actually imagining them dating. 

Alec also felt a little pang of shame at the fact that this time yesterday he didn’t even know who Magnus was and now he’s slept with him. That’s another thing to add to the list of things he wished he hadn’t done last night.

He angrily jabbed the button at the elevator, half wishing he could turn back and listen to Magnus’ explanation and say it was alright that he’d lied to him, that he’d listen and learn instead. But that half of him was dormant while the other half was caught in a storm of remembered grief, anger and - as much as he wished he could stop - desire. He still felt that instant attraction to Magnus that he’d never felt before. And yes, it had diminished as soon as he found out the truth but he couldn’t just block out the fact that Magnus was unlike anyone he’d ever known. 

Alec rested his head frustratingly against the cool, golden wall of the elevator as it smoothly descended to the lobby. 

He’d only met Magnus yesterday. Last night even. Some could say they were still strangers, despite having slept together. And Alec didn’t believe in love at first sight or any of that sappy Romeo and Juliet ‘love against all odds’ rubbish. And now he knew the truth or at least part of it, he felt a lot of anger and unexplained blame towards the man. He might have liked Magnus more than he should have after only ten hours with him but he wasn’t in love with him. Obviously. 

But amongst all the anger and the memories, he felt heartbroken for what they could have been.

**Author's Note:**

> So................ yeah please don't hate me. Or Alec or Magnus because they both have their reasons. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that it was Magnus’ birthday when they met... 
> 
> Also shoutout if you spotted the malec quotes I popped in there!
> 
> I honestly and unfortunately have no idea when the next chapter will be up because it all depends on how much time I get to write. 
> 
> But hopefully won't be too long a wait and if anyone wants to drop any theories in the comments I would love to see them.
> 
> Thank youuuuuu ily all x
> 
> I’m on twitter [@jjksmalec](http://twitter.com/jjksmalec)  
> so please follow me on there if you want!


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